Five Inter Milan flops who shone after leaving

Carlo Garganese

• 23 Feb 2022 14:30 CST
• 4 min read

Every club in the world has been guilty of wrongly selling a player who went on to shine elsewhere, but perhaps no one has allowed so many future stars to leave as Inter.

Over the last 30 years alone, they have sold future Ballon d’Or winners after believing they were either past their best or simply not right for the club any longer.

Below are five players who failed to hit the heights at Inter before becoming big stars at their new clubs.

Philippe Coutinho

Inter had signed Coutinho as a teenager but decided to sell him only a couple of years later, despite his huge talent.

"I think it could be a great opportunity for Coutinho and a deal that might work out well for us," former Inter president Massimo Moratti said when he was sold to Liverpool.

The Brazilian would almost immediately explode at Liverpool, enjoying five fantastic years before being sold on for €160 million.

"Philippe Coutinho is the biggest regret in more than 20 years at Inter," Inter director Piero Ausilio would later admit.

Fabio Cannavaro

The decision to swap Fabio Cannavaro for Juventus backup goalkeeper Fabian Carini goes down as the worst exchange deal in football history.

Well, from Inter’s point of view anyway.

Juventus couldn’t believe their luck that they were getting the Italy captain for nothing as Inter deemed the centre back past his best and increasingly injury prone.

Cannavaro enjoyed two brilliant years in Turin, re-establishing himself as not only the best defender in the world but the best player in the world. He lifted the 2006 Ballon d’Or after captaining Italy to World Cup glory with a string of stunning displays.

As for Carini, he barely got a game at Inter.

Andrea Pirlo

Andrea Pirlo would not be the only player that Inter inexplicably sold to AC Milan in the noughties. Clarence Seedorf was another they would later regret.

Despite a brilliant loan spell at Brescia where he had linked up fantastically well with Roberto Baggio, Pirlo would never be a regular at Inter.

Thus, Inter agreed to sell Pirlo to Milan in the summer of 2001. The modest winger Andres Guglielminpietro was sent to Inter as part of the deal.

Pirlo would soon become one of the best players of his generation in Milan, the brains and playmaker of a legendary midfield that would win two Champions Leagues and reach another final.

The maestro would also play a vital role in Italy’s 2006 World Cup success and Euro 2012 final appearance.

Roberto Carlos

When Real Madrid manager Fabio Capello heard that Inter were about to sell Roberto Carlos in the summer of 1996, he was speechless.

"I couldn't believe it," Capello explained recently

"My friend Giovanni Branchini told me they were going to sell him and I thought 'how can Inter be about to sell Roberto Carlos?'.

"Because I didn't believe it, they sent me a fax with the price and it wasn't an unquestionable sum, so I called the Real Madrid president Lorenzo Sanz and told him to fly straight to Milan. I explained that all Italian teams would go for him once the news got out.

"By 23:00, the contract was ready. In less than 24 minutes."

Roberto Carlos had started well at Inter but then never saw eye to eye with English manager Roy Hodgson.

It was a big mistake not giving him more time as Roberto Carlos became a Real Madrid and footballing legend after leaving.

Matthias Sammer

Sammer was a high-profile signing for Inter in the summer of 1992 but would only play 12 games before being immediately sold on mid-season.

The German had failed to settle but Inter gave up too quickly on a player who had done decently enough on the pitch in scoring four Serie A goals by Christmas.

Back in Germany, Sammer would develop into one of the best sweepers in the world and he won the Ballon d’Or in 1996 after being his country’s star man in their European Championship victory.