Inter for history, huge prize for players: 10 million for the Champions League

In companies they are called performance bonuses and in the end they make everyone happy: the company, because it means that the result they cared about has been achieved. And the employees, who see their commitment and the success of the initiative recognized also financially. And of course, in the case of Inter and the players, eternal glory would be enough to make everyone happy, in the face of a victory in Monaco on May 31st. Glory has no boundaries, just think of how even today we talk and fantasize about the Great Inter and Mou's Triplete. But close to this, close to glory, the managers have chosen to add another ten reasons. Ten million euros: that is the amount of the prize for the black and blue team in the event of a triumph against PSG. The performance bonus mentioned above, precisely.

Ten million whose contours are worth defining. First of all philosophical: it should certainly not be understood as an element of motivation, because there is nothing to add in that area while waiting for the final. Rather, Inzaghi and all the managers will have to be good from now until the end at working "in reverse", finding a way to manage waiting and pressure. The contours of the prize are those of gratification, which is a very different story and symbolizes the closeness of the ownership, even more so in the face of a historic moment and goal. And then it is right to go into detail: the 10 million are the sum of what was already established in the individual contracts of the players at the beginning of the season - the famous bonuses inserted at the time of signing - with what the club has decided to add as further recognition. Dividing by the players in the squad, we are talking about around 400 thousand euros (gross) per head, not exactly a trivial figure: to be clear, even for qualifying for the final a bonus was foreseen, which amounted to around 3 million. Here we are well over triple.

After all, it is an appointment with history. And from now until May 31st the whole Inter world will do nothing but work in that direction, from the players to the last employee. What is visible is the team. And yes, Inzaghi in these hours has worked in two directions with his players. Not very simple, neither of them. The first was to try to contain the enthusiasm in some way to stay focused on the championship: of course, few in Appiano and the surrounding area have great illusions, but the concept that the coach has conveyed is that it would be too great a regret not to take advantage of any unexpected gifts that are coming. The other step is instead preparatory to the final: it is an appeal that concerns the mental aspect, because pulling the plug completely would not be correct, it would actually be risky, because then it is not automatic to retune on the right frequencies.

But in this sense the coach is optimistic, he has hardly had negative responses from his players in four years of management. The truth is that the quarter-final with Bayern and the semifinal with Barcelona have filled the entire Inter world with self-esteem. The approach to this final is completely different from that of two years ago. And the answer is in the work group that has shown it deserves these heights. Luis Enrique says that PSG deserves to win this Champions League, but from Appiano to Viale della Liberazione everyone thinks they have at least the same arguments as the Spanish coach. In 21 days the definitive answer. With total transfers of 10 million that Oaktree would be very happy to start.