The Finnish entrepreneur speaks again about Inter: “I know I can generate excellent profits for the club.”
In a lengthy interview with L’Interista, Thomas Zilliacus discussed the possible acquisition of Inter. The Finnish entrepreneur explained his tweet in which he invited Al Thani to buy the Nerazzurri club, saying, “Let me explain. It all started with an offer I made for Manchester United last spring. At the time, I reached the same conclusion that Sheikh Jassim Al Thani must have reached now: that the Glazers were not seriously interested in selling.“
“In April, I communicated that I wouldn’t continue negotiations. My previous offer was still on the table, but I informed them that I wouldn’t make any more. As I said, my feeling was that the Glazers weren’t serious about selling.”
Do you think Al Thani will respond to you? Maybe not on Twitter…
“I’m sure he won’t respond via Twitter. But, you see, I’m Scandinavian, and I come from a culture of very open communication. I began my professional life as the Global Head of Communications for Nokia. I like this kind of communication. Let’s say that when I saw this news, I thought, ‘Okay, this is something I can’t avoid commenting on.
Have you made offers for any other teams?
“No, only for these two: Inter and United. It’s very important for me to find a club with a large, global fanbase. I know I can generate excellent profits for the clubs starting with these fans, providing them with the services they desire. I’ve been contacted by many clubs, but my response has been: ‘If you don’t have a large, global fanbase, I’m not interested.'”
How do you plan to make Inter the best club in the world?
“First and foremost, I think to lead a club, you need to understand football. As I’ve said, I’ve been a player, a coach, and an owner. I believe I know this sport very well. Inter has excellent management, starting with Beppe Marotta, and the entire team; they are skilled. I think an owner should provide support to the management. Inzaghi is also very good at his job. But to build a team, you need something more.”
What’s that?
“Firstly, you need money, and as I said, I know how to generate it. Together with Sheikh Jassim Al Thani, if we join forces, I know – and I emphasize that I don’t just believe it, I know for sure – that we would generate a lot of money. By generating money, we would enable the club to acquire the best players in the world. I should clarify that I don’t like to follow the style of, for example, Paris Saint-Germain, who seem to continuously buy the big stars without creating a real team.”
If you were the president of Inter, which great player would you like to see wearing the Nerazzurri shirt?
“It’s hard to name just one. In football, you need to win games and score goals. To do that, you need very talented forwards. For me, and I’m not saying this just because I’m Scandinavian, Erling Haaland is an absolute superstar. I would like to see him in an Inter shirt.”
But today it seems impossible to target these players because of their salaries. Do you think that someday Inter can afford them?
“Yes, that’s what I mean. Today, perhaps it’s not possible, but that’s why I was happy when I saw that Sheikh Jassim wouldn’t continue negotiations with United. I think Inter is an even more attractive club. In conclusion, the Sheikh loves football, and he shouldn’t forget that Inter is in Italy.”
Does this aspect make a difference?
“Yes, we’re talking about a fantastic country, with all due respect to England. I think Italy has much more to offer than England in all aspects of life, from culture, history, food, fashion. We’re talking about a city like Milan, which attracts both players and investors from all over the world.”
