Antonio Conte laid out Inter objectives in Serie A and the Champions League for the present and future. “Our owners are visionaries.”

The Coach gave an interview to Chinese television PPTV during the pre-season tour of Asia and naturally the focus was on the club’s owners, Suning Group.

“Our objective is to become competitive again. We know full well that in Italy there’s a team with strong foundations, which is Juventus. Behind Juventus, Napoli settled in, but Inter have an important history and tradition.

The potential separation between Inter and Mauro Icardi is growing more likely, with the striker’s image being omitted from official club promotional material.

According to Calciomercato.com, the Nerazzurri are open to the sale of the 26-year-old and will evaluate any offers that come in for their former captain.

Meanwhile, the official website of Inter owners Suning Group has replaced Icardi’s face with that of full-back Danilo D’Ambrosio on promotional pages.

Beppe Marotta denied trying to block Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Juventus, but expected his departure to be “different” and defended his move to Inter.

The former Bianconeri director general was surprisingly let go by the Turin giants and a few months later took on the role of CEO at their bitter rivals.

This prompted Pavel Nedved to claim Marotta was “never a Juventino” even during his years with the Old Lady.

Suning Group could have a new Inter partner, as multiple reports state a Hong Kong investment firm will buy Erick Thohir’s 30 per cent of the club.

There had already been rumours this morning that Suning were dealing with a takeover bid.

However, Il Messaggero, La Gazzetta dello Sport and Sky Sport Italia now note the investors are set to purchase Thohir’s remaining 30 per cent cut of the Nerazzurri shares.

Negotiations are believed to be at an advanced stage and could be finalised within two to three weeks.

Hong Kong investors are ready to offer €800m to buy Inter, it’s reported, but Suning Group seem prepared to turn it down.

According to Il Messaggero newspaper, an initial approach has been made to see if Chinese giants Suning would be willing to sell the Serie A club.

It’s claimed an offer was already rejected, but that it could be bumped up to €800m and give the current owners some serious pause for thought.

Javier Zanetti believes Inter are just starting out a new great era and will eventually partner Mauro Icardi with Lautaro Martinez.

The heroes of the 2010 Treble got together for the Festival dello Sport event, after which Vice-President Zanetti spoke to La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“That Inter and this current squad are in two very different situations. We were reaching the apex of an era. Being back in the Champions League is already a starting point, but we have what it takes to do well,” said the Argentine.

The Inter brand has doubled in value over the last year, worth more than triple what it was in the Erick Thohir era.

According to calculations made by La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Nerazzurri are now 13^th in Europe when it comes to football club brand value at €389m.

That is double the figure registered in 2017 and over three times as much as it had in 2016, before Thohir sold 70 per cent of his shares to Suning Group.

Erick Thohir is still the President of Inter and insists he won’t sell his 30 per cent of the club “until the time is right.”

He bought out the club from Massimo Moratti in 2013 and sold 68.55 per cent to Chinese conglomerate Suning Group in June 2016.

Despite not being particularly involved in the decision-making process, Thohir is still technically the President of Inter.

“Selling my shares is a business decision and we, as businessmen, always want to wait for the right moment to walk away,” Thohir told IDN Times.

Inter President Erick Thohir has officially been appointed campaign manager for Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s re-election bid.

Although Thohir only owns 30 per cent of the Serie A club and does not seem particularly involved in decisions, leaving that to Chinese conglomerate Suning Group, he is still technically the President of Inter and has been since 2013.

The 48-year-old had also owned MLS club DC United until last month and hit the headlines in Indonesia recently by organising the Asian Games.

Inter President Erick Thohir maintains he accomplished his mission and “now it’s up to Suning,” but regrets the stadium situation.

The Indonesian businessman bought the club from Massimo Moratti in November 2013, selling to Chinese conglomerate Suning Commerce Group in June 2016.

Although Thohir is technically still the President and owns 31 per cent of the club’s shares, he does not seem to make decisions or have influence over strategy.

He also rarely speaks to the media, but has now given an interview with Lapresse.