According to the latest news from the Italian media "Milan Sport", Inter midfielder Barella has renewed his contract with Inter Milan until 2029, and his salary will reach 7 million euros after tax.
Barella moved to Inter from Cagliari for €45 million in July 2019 and in almost five years he helped Inter win two Serie A titles, two Coppa Italia and three Italian Super Cups.
To be sure, Barella has also grown up with Inter in recent years, and after Brozovic's departure, he has become the absolute core of Inter's midfield, and even became the team's vice-captain.
It is worth noting that although there is a lot of praise from the outside world for Barella's contract renewal, there is no shortage of criticism, and there are even a small number of die-hard Inter fans. Their point of disagreement is that Barella's contract renewal salary is as high as 7 million, which is 13 million before taxes, which has broken the team's current maximum salary of more than 12 million.
Some of them believe that with Inter's current financial situation, renewing the contract is already a "great gift", and it is obviously inappropriate for them to be poor and raise the wages of their players. There are even more radical fans who believe that if there is a suitable offer, Zhang Kangyang should still sell Barella, whether it is to bring in reinforcements in other positions or to repay the club's debts, it needs funds.
Moreover, Inter Milan signed midfielder Frattesi from Sassuolo for a total transfer fee of 32 million euros last summer, but he can only sit on the bench for most of the season in the past season, which seems to be a bit of a violent thing.
To be sure, it is normal for some fans to have different opinions on Barella's high-salary contract extension, after all, everyone thinks Inter is good! But Zhang Kangyang, as the president of the club, obviously has his own ideas.
First of all, good steel should be used on the blade, after Inter won the championship five rounds in advance, the club will definitely be rewarded for meritorious deeds, so who among the players is most qualified to eat the first bite of cake?
Barella, as a representative of Italian local players, and even the leader of the Italian international gang, as well as as as the team's vice-president and his role on the field, and of course, his status as a die-hard Inter fan, Zhang Kangyang should use Barella as a player benchmark to "reward" no matter what.
Since Zhang Kangyang joined Inter, the core idea of his team building is to focus on Italian local players, and even reuse Italians as management, including sports director Marotta, financial CEO Antonelo and team coach Inzaghi Jr.
What is the advantage of this? It can greatly reduce some off-field problems and allow Inter to concentrate more on the competitive level. Therefore, after winning the championship, Zhang Kangyang first rewarded Barella, the representative player of today's Italian football, not only for Inter fans, but also for Italian fans and the media, at least so that they did not have the feeling of "fat water outflow".
Finally, we must talk about Lautaro's contract extension, the Argentine striker has agreed in principle to Zhang Kangyang's proposal for a contract renewal salary of 9 million euros after tax.
It is safe to say that the role of Lautaro and Barella for Inter is almost equal, if Lautaro takes the lead in renewing his contract with 9 million, then where will Barella's face go?
Therefore, Zhang Kangyang can only give priority to renewing Barella's contract to pave the way for Lautaro's contract renewal in the future, otherwise Lautaro's contract renewal news will most likely cause greater controversy among Inter fans and Italian media.
In short, as the chairman of Inter Zhang Kangyang is really difficult now, although under his helm Inter has won 7 championship trophies, but at present, Inter Milan's debt ranks first in Serie A, and it is still quite difficult financially. Zhang Kangyang has to think about financial security and athletic performance, and he can only find a balance between the two.
Barella's contract extension is clearly not a personal issue, Zhang Kangyang must consider all aspects involved and the possible consequences of it, and the ultimate goal is to lead Inter to a resurgence in the coming years.