As Internazionale waited to collect their Champions League runners-up medals at the Ataturk Stadium on Saturday night, André Onana hurled down his gloves and grabbed Lautaro Martínez by the face. It was not immediately clear if the goalkeeper was consoling his teammate or chastising him, the forceful body language reflecting all at once Inter’s despair at chances missed against Manchester City and their pride for having earned them.
“I told him football is like this, it’s hard and unfair,” Onana said. “But we played a great game, and we will be back. It’s hard to swallow, but working like this we will get back to another final.”
All around them, teammates were struggling to process the emotions. Inter played the game they had intended to, standing toe‑to‑toe with a City team who entered as heavy favourites, ceding possession but not position as they pressed and disrupted up the pitch. They carved out the better chances as well.
“The ball just wouldn’t go in,” said Federico Dimarco, who saw one header come back off the crossbar and another off the shin of his teammate Romelu Lukaku. A point-blank effort from the Belgian was kept out by Ederson’s knee. The penultimate touch of the game belonged to the City goalkeeper, making a brilliant save to deny Robin Gosens at a corner.
Winning finals requires good fortune and better timing to combine with talent and hard work. Pep Guardiola was not bluffing when he told the Italian broadcaster Mediaset that the truest achievement was not to win this competition but to make a habit of “always being there at the end”.
Manuel Akanji claimed John Stones played like Diego Maradona after Manchester City won the Champions League and completed the treble.
The England international has enjoyed a fine end to the season having been deployed in a new roving role by manager Pep Guardiola.
The centre-back retains his usual defensive duties when City are on the back foot but, given their tendency to dominate possession, he now has licence to step into midfield and dictate play more.
Defender Akanji said: "The way he dribbled, he played like Maradona. He just took the ball, went past three people, passed it somewhere else. He created a lot of opportunities for us. He is an unbelievable player." PA Media
Inter want to believe this is only a starting point. The midfielder Nicolò Barella said last week that the path to Istanbul had begun with defeat by Sevilla in the 2020 Europa League final and “from that pain we started to win trophies”. They secured a Serie A title the next season under Antonio Conte. They have since claimed the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana twice each with Simone Inzaghi.
The sense of momentum is real. Inter had not reached the Champions League knockout stage in a decade before Inzaghi took charge, and he pointed to the last-16 defeat by Liverpool last year as another crucial step in their development, a 1-0 win in the second leg at Anfield representing a moment when his team began to understand what was required.
How high can you build, though, on uncertain foundations? Inter are facing up to another summer of difficult decisions as they attempt to balance the books. The club posted losses of more than €245m (£209m) in 2021, then €140m in 2022. From 2024 they will enter into a three‑year monitoring period of their financial fair play settlement agreement with Uefa, during which their aggregate football earnings deficit must not exceed €60m.
Reaching the Champions League final this season has strengthened their position, bringing in close to €100m in prize money as well as additional gate receipts and a last‑minute shirt sponsorship deal with Paramount. Yet Inter, who are due in 2024 to repay a €275m emergency loan from Oaktree Capital taken out to cover post‑pandemic operating costs, still need further steps to break even.
At least one high earner can be subtracted from the wage bill, with Milan Skriniar out of contract and headed for Paris Saint-Germain, but others whose deals expire this month present the club with dilemmas. Edin Dzeko is 37 years old and wanted by Fenerbahce, but he played a central role in Inter’s run to this final. If he leaves, then who starts up front with Martínez next season? Inter would love to extend Lukaku’s loan from Chelsea, and the player wants to stay, but once again the financial realities are complicated. It is only two years since the Premier League club paid £97.5m to sign him from Inter in the first place.
Inter may need to consider another high-profile sale. The most obvious candidate is Onana, who joined on a free transfer from Ajax last summer and who raised his profile with an impressive performance in Istanbul. He already kept five clean sheets in six knockout games to get there.
That would be a painful sale, though, for a club striving to build on their success. Onana’s introduction to the starting lineup this season was a turning point, after a shaky start with Samir Handanovic in goal. He hardly sounded like a man rushing for the exit on Saturday when he said: “I am at Inter’s disposal. I will do what Inter tell me to do but I am happy at Inter.”
The club president, Steven Zhang, was struggling to contain his emotions at full time on Saturday, heaping praise on his team and insisting “the players who had a good season with us will continue with us”.
Inzaghi, who has one year left on his contract, said he would take a few days before getting together with club leadership to discuss the next steps.
“With this spirit, organisation and edge to our game I am sure we will be back to play another Champions League final,” the manager said, echoing the sentiments of Onana and others besides. Inter believe they are still at the start of a journey, not the end of one. There are major obstacles to be navigated, though, on the road ahead.
