20 May 2026 08:18 BST |
4 min read
Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez may be one of the best players in the world, but the Barcelona transfer target has indicated that he is ready to turn his back on the game, claiming that he will “disappear” when the time comes to leave San Siro.
Lautaro, 28, has scored 175 times for the Serie A champions, including an impressive 17 in 29 Serie A appearances for the club this season.
Such form has led him to be linked with a big-money move to Barcelona in the summer, with the Catalans in need of a centre-forward to replace Robert Lewandowski.
But the player has revealed that he is disillusioned with the game and has no intention of hanging around the professional game on a long-term basis.
“You never know in football, but if they don’t kick me out, I’ll stay here,” Lautaro told Gazzetta dello Sport. “It’s hard for me to imagine myself anywhere else these days.
“When I retire? I won’t stay in football. I don’t like the atmosphere around it. You won’t hear from me again: I’ll disappear.”
Lautaro Martinez admits mental struggles
Martinez detailed how tough it is mentally to be a professional player at the elite level.
“I had a lot of personal problems, especially off the pitch, before my daughter was born. And therapy helped me, for example, to manage the moments when I wasn’t scoring goals,” he admitted.
“Sometimes I doubted myself, whether I was still capable of playing football, whether I deserved to be Inter’s No. 10. Imagine how far the human mind can go. That’s when I realised I needed support, because I was falling into a tunnel. Even today, I continue to be treated by the club psychologist.”
And defeat to the Fluminense at the Club World Cup nearly pushed him back into that ‘tunnel’.
“I wasn’t afraid after the Champions League final. But after the Club World Cup final, yes,” he says. “I thought about a lot of things, I suffered a lot. I’m not saying I asked to leave, but I had this feeling inside me that if a big offer had arrived, maybe… I was devastated.
“That’s what inspired the interview after the elimination against Fluminense. I went out, put on my shirt, and said what I thought.
“I wanted to share what I saw in the locker room. As captain, it was my duty. Then I went on vacation and didn’t train for three weeks, I just ate. In fact, when I returned, I weighed a little more…”
Lautaro continues to be linked with an exit from Inter this summer, with Barcelona most heavily associated with him, but the player has made it clear: he’s staying at San Siro.
Related stories:
Build The FIFA World Cup 2026™: LEGO© releases stunning football-inspired collection
Decision made? Lewandowski’s most likely destination revealed
Transfer Rumours: Lewis Hall battle erupts as Arsenal decision made
The FootballTransfers app
Check out FootballTransfers’ new app for all of football’s big storylines, transfer rumours and exclusive news in one convenient place directly on your mobile device.
The FootballTransfers app is available on Google Play and in the Apple App Store. Download here:
•Google Play
•App Store
