President Erick Thohir reveals Inter will sell 'two or three, but certainly not six players', whilst confirming Roberto Mancini on the bench.

The Nerazzurri tycoon will have a tough time on the transfer market this year, as he must fortify an expensive squad without falling foul of FIFA's rules on irresponsible debt.

President Erick Thohir reveals Inter will sell 'two or three, but certainly not six players', whilst confirming Roberto Mancini on the bench.

The Nerazzurri tycoon will have a tough time on the transfer market this year, as he must fortify an expensive squad without falling foul of FIFA's rules on irresponsible debt.

“There's an economic difference between being in the Champions League and the Europa League,” Thohir told Il Corriere dello Sport. “If you're in the CL, your salaries can be raised because you have greater revenue.

“If you're not in there, you can't spend as much. Right now we spend about €80m yearly on the salaries, and I believe that's going to stay more or less the same, in spite of a few slight amendments.

“We're compelled to respect certain parameters, what with the Financial Fair Play rules and the agreement we signed with UEFA.

“Sure, we could raise the salaries to a €130m limit, spend more on the signings than we make from the sales, and I'm sure that would make the fans happy – myself included, because I am an Inter fan.

“But what would happen to us should we end up second in the standings without following the UEFA rules? We wouldn't play the Champions League, nor the Europa League.

“That's why respecting the FFP is mandatory. We must keep the salary cap where it is, and reach a balance between sales and signings that will give us a revenue of €50m over the next transfer window.”

Thohir was then asked whether the team would sell its key players.

“Why should we? If we sold everyone, in 2016-17 we wouldn't reach the Europa League nor the Champions League, and that's our target. Of course we want to reach the CL, but if we end up in the EL it won't be a catastrophe.

“It would be more problematic to be excluded from the European cups. That's why, I'll say it again, we're not going to sell six of our starters. Two or three maybe, but certainly not six.

“[Ivan] Perisic, [Mauro] Icardi and Miranda, for example, are here with us, and we certainly wouldn't let them go, even if somebody came and asked for them. We have a strategy.”

The Indonesian magnate was then asked whether Roberto Mancini would stay on as a Coach.

“He will, and I should add that I liked what he said. We started a project with him and we're going to bring that to a close.

“It's not about the money. He has one more year and we want him to stay. His contribution to Inter speaks for itself: compared to the previous year, we improved by 12 points, which is substantial.

“But we're aiming for more than 70 points. We can do that with Mancini on the bench, because he is our superstar.

“Yes, I might renew his contract mid-season. If Mancini does well and the players too, we'll renew his contract and also theirs. If this won't come to pass, though, we'll have to take some serious decisions. We owe that to the club and the fans.”

Byandrea

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