Archive June 1, 2025

Is Champions League defeat end of an era for Inter?

By in News, Sports News

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Emlyn Begley
Allianz Arena is where a BBC Sport journalist works.
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Inter Milan’s storied era is over, right?

The Nerazzuri may now feel that their own rebuild is necessary this summer, albeit on a tighter budget, as Paris St-Germain defeated Inter 5-0 to win their first Champions League victory.

The assembled PSG starting XI at Allianz Arena cost about £403 million, compared to the roughly £137 million Inter paid for their starting lineup.

The third-oldest team in Champions League final history was led by Inter boss Simone Inzaghi, whose future is uncertain. Seven of the same starting XI from Istanbul, which lost to Manchester City two years ago, have re-composed.

“The players deserve a lot of credit. They gave it their best shot. After the game, Inzaghi said, “I wouldn’t change these players for anything,” but he didn’t promise that he would be the one in charge of the Fifa Club World Cup in the future.

What had the potential to be a treble-winning season just weeks ago just ended up being nothing because of the youth of PSG, they simply couldn’t deal with.

Inter were the first team to start three players aged 36 or older in a European Cup or Champions League final under the direction of Francesco Acerbi, Yann Sommer, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

They did appear to be one of the oldest teams in the competition as the game progressed, according to BBC Match of the Day pundit Nedum Onuoha, who noted that the scoreline was also improving.

new players ? New manager…?

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Owners Oaktree, who took over the club last year, wanted to adopt a “model of investments in slightly younger profiles who represent a real asset,” according to Inter president Giuseppe Marotta before this final.

Before the Munich showdown against PSG, they would be even surer if they even had a shred of doubt.

The club is strong, Inzaghi declared. The organization helps us. For the upcoming season, we have signed two players.

He was referring to the 21-year-old Croatian midfielder Petar Sucic, 21, and presumably Marseille’s 23-year-old Brazilian winger Luis Henrique, a highly regarded player.

The boss continued, “We are aware that we must sign more.” The entire club is with us.

They simply couldn’t handle PSG’s speed, energy, movement, and invention on Saturday. Federico Dimarco’s left-back performance in the opening two goals was questionable despite having been shooed off long before PSG began recording record-setting goals.

Even though the title was up for grabs, several of their starters were restrained for the final day of the Serie A season. That day, Inter did well to win the title, but Napoli did.

“We were more exhausted than PSG tonight.” We struggled with our game. We didn’t come from scratch, Inzaghi said.

“They were present on the second balls always.” Up until Friday, we played our league. A few months in advance, they won their league.

However, if they do decide a refresh is necessary, they will need to look up clubs for some of their players. None of Munich’s starting XI has a contract until the summer.

Its starting XI in a Champions League final was the third oldest, with an average of 30 years and 242 days. Players on PSG were 146 days and five years older on average.

But who will oversee the reconstruction?

If Inter had won this, Inzaghi, who led Inter to the Serie A title and two Italian Cups last year, would have likely been regarded as one of the elite. He has a strong connection to Al-Hilal, a club in Saudi Arabia.

He made no attempt to deny the possibility that this could be his final game in charge at Friday’s pre-game press conference inside Allianz Arena.

And he didn’t commit either after the game.

He claimed that the moment is not the best to discuss my future. “We’re very disappointed,” the statement read. Talking about my future is awkward right now.

We’ll be addressing the fact that this year we didn’t win any silverware.

When asked if he would be in charge of the Club World Cup, which will begin next month, he replied, “I can’t answer this question now. [media] I came here to show my respect for you. From a sporting standpoint, I’m hurting.

“Defeats make you stronger,” he says. This has already occurred to us. Istanbul was a place where we lost, but we eventually won the league.

Former City defender Onuoha, “This is going to feel much worse for the Inter Milan players than their defeat in the 2023 final.”

“They did well in that game, but they didn’t offer anything tonight.

When you walk off the field in a game where you haven’t lost a player like that, I believe that is a real cause for concern.

Italian football journalist James Horncastle stated on BBC Radio 5 Live that Inter believed this to be their only missing element.

They must again observe another team savoring and boogie-making.

They have won a lot, but they have also lost a lot. But playing sports is just one thing.

Inzaghi remarked about the defeat suffered against City two years ago, saying, “We know defeats can make you stronger. Similar to the loss in Istanbul, tonight’s defeat hurts a lot. They were two entirely different matches.

“This has been handled,” the statement read. We can start moving forward together.

PSG’s opponents just completed a complete overhaul of their own, despite the fact that it was centered on egos rather than ages.

In recent years, the front three players who all seemed to be the stars, including Neymar, Lionel Messi, and Kylian Mbappe, have all left the field.

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related subjects

  • Inter Milan
  • UEFA Champions League
  • Football

Romesh Ranganathan reveals personal turmoil after dad’s jail time for fraud

By in Entertainment News, News

Romesh Ranganathan, a comedian and TV presenter, has described how Ranga’s family life was turned around when his father, Ranga, was imprisoned for fraud.

Romesh is opening up about how his life was turned upside down after a turbulent childhood(Image: PA)

Comedian and TV star Romesh Ranganathan has recalled how his perfect upbringing was turned upside down when his dad Ranga who was imprisoned for fraud. Romesh was a teenager living in Crawley at the time and attending private school, when he and his younger brother and mother were forced to move out of the family home and live in a Bed & Breakfast for some time. Romesh recalled: “My dad had fallen into financial trouble. What it turns out is that he’d lost his job and he was trying to make money in this sort of Sri Lankan Del Boy way, and it wasn’t working out.

And he was unable to make their house’s mortgage payments. And they were unable to afford the tuition at the school I was enrolling in, even with my scholarship.

Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan
Romesh is known for his profession as a comedian and TV presenter(Image: Getty Images)

Matters came to a head when it became apparent Ranga had also been having an affair and when he disappeared for several days, Romesh was tasked with asking the ‘other women’ where his dad was, on behalf of his anxious mother. Romesh said: “She tells us that my dad had been arrested three days previously, and he had been involved in some sort of fraud case. I don’t know why we’d not heard, why he’d not got in touch, but this lady knew. “He ended up going to prison for two years, or just under two years. You know, I remember my dad being convicted and going to prison the day before my birthday. I think it’s my 15th birthday. And so my friends are having a party for me. I just went and pretended that wasn’t going on because you want some normalcy. “Because for a while, we moved out of the house, and then a counsellor gave us a room in a bed and breakfast.” Romesh told Lauren Laverne on Desert Island Discs that he would regularly hear his mum crying in this period, and she managed to provide for her sons by getting a job as a cleaner. His father did come back to the family home when he was released from prison and they patched up their relationship over time. Romesh said: “On my dad’s 60th birthday, by that time, our relationship had really kind of improved. I’d had kids at that point, and I saw the way that my dad was being with my children.

We are in a really good place, and I was like, “I’ve never seen this side of my dad.” My dad’s memory recalls resembles a torn tornado.

Romesh and his mum
The star opened up on the affect of his dad going to prison when he was a teen(Image: https://www.instagram.com/p/BxJ3RtZFTps/)

His parents came to the UK from Sri Lanka and Romesh pays tribute to his mother Sivashanthini – known as Shanthi – who kept the family together during his father’s absence. Romesh admits that he didn’t appreciate the sacrifices she made at the time.

Shanthi has since gone on to appear alongside her son on television where she has proved to be a funny and observant sidekick. Romesh believes his late father would have been proud of Shanthi’s role as, what he laughingly describes as, “one of the safest hands in British comedy.”

He speaks openly on the Radio 4 programme about his struggles with mental health which started around the time he took his A-Levels. He tells Lauren that he has thought about taking his own life more than once and explains that he saw it as a solution to his emotional turmoil. He reveals that he’s experienced serious dark periods at several points during his life but has learned how to manage those times. He says that he talks about the experiences he has been through on stage but explains that talking about it comes with responsibility. “You got to be careful because it’s triggering,” he said. “I’m trying to destigmatise (mental health) but you do also have to be mindful of the fact that people may have been affected by that and then if I suddenly say I had thoughts about taking my own life and somebody’s lost someone through that or they’ve had those moments themselves, you have to be sensitive to that and you don’t always get it right but I think the rewards outweigh the risks.” Rarely off screen, Romesh has presented travel programmes and documentaries, starred in his own sitcom and hosts the Weakest Link on BBC One. He also presents Radio Two’s Saturday morning show and another weekly Radio Two programme in which he shares his love of hip hop music, which make up many of his choices when it comes to Desert Island Discs.

Romesh
Romesh felt like he experienced dark periods during his life(Image: CBS via Getty Images)

Romesh addressed his reputation for having a busy workload, he says there is no game plan, he just does “whatever feels good”. He reveals that he is thinking about taking, what he calls, a step back. Romesh added: “I want to be at home a bit more.”

“And by the way, this is not a retirement announcement, but I do feel like, relatively recently, this is quite unexpected that we are talking at this time because I have just entered a period of thought where I will probably just be a little more measured in what I do going forward. And I believe I might make a bigger break between bits.

Continue reading the article.

My next stand-up idea might be the result of a stroll through the park. Who knows, I need to replenish my reserves? Eminem, Public Enemy, and Stevie Wonder are among his music selections on the show.

On Radio 4 and BBC Sounds today (Sunday) on Desert Island Discs and Radio 4 and BBC Sounds, you can hear the full interview with Romesh and his song choices.