Is Champions League defeat end of an era for Inter?

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.

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.