Former Juventus chief executive Giuseppe Marotta has travelled to China to seal a deal with Inter Milan’s Chinese owners Suning for a move to the Serie A club, according to reports in Italy on Sunday.
Marotta left Juventus earlier this month after eight highly successful years in Turin, and his arrival would be seen as a huge coup for Inter, Juve’s fiercest domestic rival.
The 61-year-old was one of the architects of Juventus’ recent re-emergence as Italy’s dominant force, which has seen them rack up seven straight Serie A titles and four Italian Cups, and twice finish runners-up in the Champions League.
Marotta is in Nanjing to meet with Suning owner Zhang Jindong and his son, Inter President Steven Zhang, to discuss his future role within the club, according to Corriere della Sera and Gazzetta dello Sport.
Both newspapers reported that he wants to be clear that his future position will be different to that of Inter’s sporting director Piero Ausilio.
A deal could be reached before Inter travel to Juventus on December 7.
When contacted by AFP, a spokeswoman for Suning said she was not aware of Marotta’s reported trip.
Luciano Spalletti’s side are third in Serie A, nine points behind Juventus. – Agence France-Presse
