Former Inter striker Christian Vieri says he originally joined the Nerazzurri in order to play alongside Ronaldo. The strike duo played for Inter during the late 90’s, but O Fenômeno suffered a spate of injuries and eventually left to join Real Madrid. Speaking with the official Serie A channel, Vieri recounted his desire to make the move to Milan in order to join Ronaldo and talked about why he still has a special bond with the Interisiti:
“I went to Inter for Ronaldo, I absolutely wanted to play with him. And then San Siro….playing at San Siro is crazy stuff. Playing at San Siro must make you score 5 goals a game, it’s something that is impossible to believe. Ronaldo was the best player in the world, there was absolutely no comparison with anyone. The 90 billion Lira? I didn’t give a damn, it didn’t bother me at all.
“Moratti? I got angry about the stalking thing but I don’t hold onto it, he was my president for 6 years. I can’t tell him anything, he loves Inter. The Moratti family loves Inter so much ….they love them madly. After May 5th, Moratti called me and I immediately told him ‘don’t sell Ronaldo for me ‘. And instead it was precisely for that reason – Ronaldo wanted to leave if Cuper remained at the club. Moratti was devastated, he sold him reluctantly and Ronaldo left reluctantly. And Cuper then lasted 5 games….2
“Am I an Inter fan? I supported all the teams I played for, but Inter is the team that gave me the most, the people loved me. I would never have left, they were six difficult and painful years, but this is precisely why I am attached to Inter.”
