Lautaro Martinez angry: "If you don't want to stay, you should leave"
First the bitter 0-5 defeat in the Champions League final against PSG, now the early exit at the Club World Cup against Fluminense: Inter are now in trouble.
Reflecting on Inter's captain Lautaro Martinez after the Club World Cup defeat to Fluminense. Picture alliance / Sipa USA
"I would like to apologize to the fans who were here today to watch our game," Lautaro Martinez said on DAZN after the 2-0 defeat to the Brazilians in Charlotte, North Carolina. "We weren't really in the game in the first half, conceded a goal, and lost the ball far too often. Fluminense sat deep and waited for counterattacks. In the second half, we came out better and gave it our all. It was very hot, we were mentally tired, and we had a few injuries," the Nerazzurri captain continued.
Inter captain verbally attacks Calhanoglu?In addition to his team's performance in the first half, Martinez was also clearly dissatisfied with other things from the tournament days in the USA: "Our coach ( Cristian Chivu ; editor's note ) gave us a strong and clear message, which also applied in the event of our elimination: Anyone who wants to stay with us should stay. Anyone who doesn't want to stay should go. We play for an important club and have a duty to aim high."
Martinez's statement was widely seen in the Italian media as a minor attack, especially on Hakan Calhanoglu , who himself was unable to play against Fluminense due to injury and was recently quoted in the Turkish media as saying that he would prefer to be allowed to move "home" from Inter to Galatasaray in the summer - despite his contract with Milan running until 2027.
When asked about Calhanoglu, Martinez did not want to directly criticize the Mannheim native: "I'm only saying that in general terms. It was a long and tiring season that we finished with nothing in hand," the Argentinian said, referring to the clear defeat in the Champions League final against Paris St. Germain and the narrowly missed Italian title in the final spurt.
"It's a general message. I won't name any names," Martinez continued in no uncertain terms. "We're here to give our all. But I've seen a lot here that I didn't like. I'm the captain and leader of our team, so I have to address things. The message is clear: those who want to stay and continue fighting for important trophies should stay. Otherwise: goodbye."
