Mkhtaryan Reveals Decision to Move to Inter

The all-time top scorer of the Armenian national team, Henrikh Mkhtaryan, has shared how he decided to join Milan's Inter and why he did not wish to continue his career with Roma. This was reported by ArmSport.am.

Henrikh also discussed the influence of former Inter head coach Simone Inzaghi on his career. He stated, "Everything started after my second year at Roma when I received a call from Piero Ausilio, who said they wanted to see me at Inter. After that call, we never spoke again. Later, during my third season at Roma, there were discussions regarding a contract extension with Mourinho and sporting director Tiago Pinto. Tiago knew I liked the city and that I wanted to finish my career there. But I don’t know, maybe they didn’t understand me or didn’t believe me and wanted to do everything their way. I said, ‘No, this is not how business is done. I need to feel important to you, but you are offering me a one plus one year contract, which I do not want. I’m 33 years old, and I’d like to be sure.'"

"After the game against Inter (3-1 at San Siro), Ausilio called me again, saying, ‘Now we are sure that Simone Inzaghi is the coach who really wants you. We need to finalize the deal as soon as possible.’ We were still fighting for the league and had to play in the Conference League final, but I agreed because Roma was not very clear with me. In contrast, Inter offered me a fixed two-year contract. Seeing what was happening, I said, ‘I can’t stay here, even though the coach wanted me to remain.’"

Regarding Simone Inzaghi, Mkhtaryan said, "I spent three wonderful years with him; he gave me a second youth. He was a coach, a father, and a friend—someone you could talk to about anything without crossing boundaries. I have nothing but good memories. If I see him in the next few months or years, I will hug him again. After he went to Arabia, I sent him a message thanking him for those three years. He was a fundamental coach and very important for this Inter. Did his departure distract us? People talked more about that than the Champions League final, and maybe that made us a bit uneasy. He didn’t want to talk about anything and wanted to focus solely on the final," Mkhtaryan's words are cited by the Italian respected publication La Gazzetta dello Sport.

It is worth noting that Mkhtaryan joined Inter on July 1, 2022, and his current contract with the Milan giants is set to last until June 30, 2026.