The Serie A title, his first in his coaching career, his first in the Italian top flight, secured his position at the helm of Inter. There was no doubt about his future, but the parties, Chivu and president Marotta, sat down at a table on Thursday to find a new deal. As expected, “white smoke” rose from the offices in Milan, with Chivu and Marotta formalising the final details of the contract renewal until 2028.

Renewal was in the air, as they had long since found a chord, but this meeting also served to project the new season where the objective remains unchanged, to defend the championship title.

In an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, Chivu stressed that his team has hunger, a hunger to win trophies, while the Champions League is not an obsession: "Will I stay at Inter longer than Marotta? If I don't lose three games in a row, maybe. During the season there was a moment when I could have been fired, especially after the defeats against Udinese and Juve. I survived because I never look back, I don't think about the game that was lost, but I only focus on the next game. Champions? We could and should have done better. We have ambitions, this is because history imposes it on us, but we shouldn't be obsessed, we have to take the Champions League step by step", said Chivu, who among other things admitted that Palestra is a player he likes, a profile that would serve the team.