Inter captain Lautaro Martinez revealed he considered leaving the club after their disappointing Club World Cup campaign last summer.

The Nerazzurri were knocked out in the round of 16 of the revamped competition by Fluminense, losing 2-0 to the Brazilian side in Charlotte.

The exit also came off the back of a painful ending to the 2024-25 season for Inter, who lost out on the Serie A title to Napoli on the final day before being thumped 5-0 by Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final.

After their defeat to Fluminense, Martinez sent out a statement to his team-mates during his media duties, urging players who did not want to be at the club to leave in the summer.

Martinez explained why he made the statement, as well as the reasons behind his thoughts of a departure from Inter.

"I wanted to share what I saw in the locker room. I had to do it as a captain," Martinez told Gazzetta dello Sport.

"Then I went on vacation, and for three weeks, I didn’t train; I just ate. In fact, when I came back, I weighed a little more.

"Speaking in public made noise. But I also had it in for myself, because I was not blameless.

"Then [Cristian] Chivu gave us a hand, bringing fresh air without taking anything away from Simone [Inzaghi], who made us live four wonderful years.

"I thought about many things, and I suffered a lot. I’m not saying I asked to leave, but inside I felt that if an important offer had come in, then maybe. I was devastated."

The decision to stay paid off for Martinez, who helped Inter win the domestic double this season.

The Argentina international directly contributed to more goals this term than any other Serie A player across all competitions (28 – 22 goals, six assists) in 40 appearances.

Martinez scored in Inter's Coppa Italia final victory over Lazio, which secured the Nerazzurri's first domestic double since 2009-10.