Inter President Beppe Marotta notes that new Chelsea signing Marco Palestra ‘backed out of a verbal agreement’ with the Nerazzurri, but blames the defender’s agent as well: ‘He could have steered him in a different direction.’

Inter President Marotta joined coach Cristian Chivu for a press conference on Monday, on the first day of the Nerazzurri pre-season.

The defending Serie A champions are still looking for a replacement for Denzel Dumfries, who joined Real Madrid in a €20m deal.

Marotta: Palestra ‘backed out of a verbal agreement’ with Inter

Their primary target, Marco Palestra, joined Chelsea two weeks ago despite having reached an agreement with Inter.

“We need to keep costs under control, not investments. I’m referring to players we can’t sign because their wages are too high and to agents, whose influence on the club’s finances is becoming increasingly significant,” Marotta said via FcInternews.

“We have to deal with these realities, which have a major impact on the transfer market.

“Take the case of Palestra, for example. It was the result of a decision made by the player, who backed out of a verbal agreement,” Marotta added.

“His agent could have steered him in a different direction, but chose this path instead, and we had to accept seeing another Italian player move to a league that is not in direct competition with ours.”

During his press conference, Marotta announced that Inter’s second target, Anan Khalaili, had failed his medical tests, meaning that his €25m transfer from Union Saint-Gilloise has fallen apart.

Inter have won three Serie A titles during Marotta’s reign, but the one conquered in 2025-26 under Chivu was his first one as the Nerazzurri’s president.

Inter began their pre-season today and will make their 2026-27 Serie A debut at home against Monza on August 22.