Lautaro Martínez challenged those not fully committed to Inter to leave the club in a furious rant following his side’s surprise elimination from the Club World Cup.
Having fallen so painfully to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final just one month ago, Inter were stunned by Fluminense in the last 16 of the Club World Cup, falling to a 2–0 defeat over which the Nerazzurri can have no complaints.
Fronting up to the media after the final whistle, club captain Lautaro did not hold back as he took aim at some players in the squad for an alleged lack of commitment to the team.
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“This was a last objective with the little strength we had left, we put our heart into it, I’m so sorry, I never want to lose,” he told reporters.
“But I want to say that you have to want to be here. We are fighting for certain objectives, those who want to be here, stay, those who don’t can leave. I saw things that I didn’t like. I want to fight to win because we are in an important team, a team that we have brought back to the top and we must continue to do this.
“Who am I referring to? Everyone in general. You can’t do things alone. I am the first responsible as captain, now I apologise to the fans, because another defeat hurts a lot. We gave everything and we got this far.”
While Lautaro declined to name the target, or targets, of his rant, Inter president Beppe Marotta publicly suggested the captain’s words were aimed at midfielder Hakan Çalhanoğlu, a known target for Turkish side Galatasaray.
“I interpret the captain’s words in a positive way,” Marotta revealed to DAZN. “He was referring to an important concept, when a player no longer wants to be in a team, it’s right that he leaves.
“There is no one who has concretely expressed this situation. Perhaps he was referring to Çalhanoğlu’s dynamics, the situation will be defined soon, calmly and lucidly. We will talk to each other to resolve the problems, Lautaro’s call is shared by the club because this is the spirit that can take us far.”
New manager Cristian Chivu attempted to take more of a diplomatic approach, pleading for calm in the aftermath of Inter’s elimination.
“Lautaro, like us, is competitive,” Chivu added. “He has a crazy desire to win and to do everything to achieve his goals, his competitiveness has come out.
“Let’s not add fuel to the fire, let’s take the good things, a new coach with his staff in three weeks has tried to get to know the group, it’s not easy to arrive after the disappointment of the end of the season, but I saw people who wanted to give their all, then obviously you can do more. We demand more but you have to be clear-headed to understand why.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘Leave’—Lautaro Martinez Lashes Out at Inter Teammates After Club World Cup Exit.
