Inter have confirmed the sale of midfielder Mateo Kovacic to Real Madrid for a fee reportedly in the region of €30m.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the transfer will become official in the coming days, although Fabio Coentrao will not be heading in the opposite direction, despite speculation of the Nerazzurri’s interest in the left-back.
“UEFA has imposed Financial Fair Play rules upon us and they must be respected,” Inter boss Roberto Mancini told reporters on Sunday.
“We’re sorry because we didn’t want [Kovacic and Xherdan Shaqiri] to both leave, but it’s true that their sales will allow us to do something later [in the market].”
Kovacic, although born in Austria, is a full Croatia international and joined Inter from Dinamo Zagreb for €15m in January 2013 as a direct replacement for Philippe Coutinho.
However, he struggled to establish himself under Mancini following the Coach’s appointment last November and has subsequently been allowed to move on.
The 21-year-old had also been linked with Barcelona, although they subsequently shelved their interest in favour of Arda Turan.
