EXCLUSIVE: Banega is all but an Inter player. But who did all the hard work?
Inter fans had been terrified by the existence of an automatic renewal clause were Banega to appear in more than 30 games this season with the Rojiblancos. Inter Director of Sport Piero Ausilio found out, however, that it wasn’t binding, and that the Argentine could get out of it by paying a small penalty.
At this stage, Monchi has accepted that the 27-year-old is on the way out.
But who helped the Nerazzurri land Banega? Beyond Piero Ausilio, who surprised everyone when it emerged in late January that he’d made enormous progress with the midfielder in a series of visits to Spain in December (when Juventus were playing Sevilla in the Champions League).
Another key player is a fellow Argentine, Javier Zanetti, who practically replaced Marco Fassone after the latter resigned. The Inter legend is starting to reap what he has sown, spending weeks working on the Banega case, calling him up and using their friendship to help land the midfielder.
Ausilio is also known to have called Inter loanee Marco Andreolli (a team-mate of Banega’s) if Banega was reliable, both off the pitch and in terms of injuries.
Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano), precis translation by @edodalmonte
