Ausilio's 'biggest regret is Coutinho' despite Dybala close to join in 2015

Paulo Dybala was close to joining Inter in 2015, but director Piero Ausilio’s biggest regret is “without doubt Philippe Coutinho.”

The Nerazzurri chief sat down with Sky Sport Italia for an in-depth interview and discussed some of the deals that didn’t quite work.

“My biggest regret is without doubt Coutinho. I’ll be honest, it wasn’t even an economic problem, as once we sold him to Liverpool (for €13m in January 2013), we bought Mateo Kovacic and Mauro Icardi.

“All of us in the Inter directorial staff would’ve gladly kept Coutinho for 20 years, but there was a very important issue: he just wasn’t playing.

“Every six months, the player would quite rightly come over and say he wanted to leave so he could play regularly.”

Just five years after that €13m sale, Barcelona paid Liverpool €130m for the young Brazilian.

“Kovacic is one of those football talents you can’t help but fall in love with. Everyone likes him. We had thoughts about bringing him back from Real Madrid, but nothing concrete, because the conditions for a deal just weren’t there and we didn’t even make a formal offer.

“Having said that, we won’t rule out the possibility of working with a player like him in future.”

Ausilio reveals there were some players he missed out on entirely, as Juventus are financially a powerhouse thanks in part to their stadium.

“We organised a meeting with Palermo in 2015 and I am convinced that if Inter had shown more determination to spend, then Dybala probably would’ve become an Inter player.

“Our offer was decidedly inferior to the one presented by Juventus, who also gave him the chance to play in the Champions League, but the idea of a pairing between Icardi and Dybala was intriguing for everyone, including the players.

“We must be honest, we wouldn’t have been prepared for a Cristiano Ronaldo style move. It’s not that I’m saying I don’t want Ronaldo or Lionel Messi, as I’d love to work with the best players in the world, but there are moments when you can afford them and others when you simply can’t.

“Inter could not possibly have sustained a move worth €100m, nor the salary he was asking for. We must be honest with people and tell our fans what is just not possible, but we are working to get Inter back to winning ways as soon as possible.

“We’ll still take Financial Fair Play parameters into account, but will no longer have the Settlement Agreement issue. It’ll be a transfer strategy based on quality players who can improve Inter, but also on raising funds. We can’t just buy, we need to sell too.”