Inter chief executive Giuseppe Marotta is hopeful that head coach Antonio Conte will still be in charge at San Siro next season but is unable to offer any guarantees.
Conte guided Inter to their first Scudetto triumph since 2009-10 this season with four games to spare and is under contract for another year.
However, the Italian giants are facing well-documented financial issues and Conte is reportedly considering his future beyond the end of this campaign.
Talks are said to be planned between the ex-Chelsea boss and president Steven Zhang once Inter have played their remaining two league matches.
And when asked by Sky Sport Italia whether Conte will still be in the Inter dugout next season, Marotta could not give a definitive answer.
"As a person and a director, I certainly hope so," Marotta said. "He helped to start a new era in two seasons that were affected by COVID.
"If we look over two years of the Conte era, we have second place in Serie A and the title won several weeks in advance, and have also reached the Europa League final.
"We certainly hope to continue together even during these difficulties."
Inter have asked players to accept a pay cut as part of a cost-cutting exercise, while the likes of Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez have been linked with moves away.
But Marotta insists the pre-existing contracts already in place will be respected by Inter should the players reject the club's request.
"Everything started with a meeting with the president, who explained the current moment football is experiencing with maximum serenity," he said.
"Zhang made the players aware of the delicate position the club is in, but he didn't oblige anyone [to take wage cuts]. It's up to everyone to make a decision with their conscience.
"We have full respect for the players who have given the club an extraordinary joy this season. I'll repeat: Inter will honour all their agreements."
Marotta was speaking ahead of Inter's meeting with Roma on Wednesday, which the Nerazzurri won 3-1 to make it a club-record extending 15 home league victories in a row.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan pulled a goal back for Roma after midfield pair Marcelo Brozovic and Matias Vecino had given Inter a two-goal advantage in a lively first half at San Siro.
But Lukaku's 22nd Serie A goal of the campaign - only Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo with 28 has more - tapped in late on to seal a first home win against Roma since 2015.
With that goal, Lukaku became the fourth Inter player to score at least 15 goals at home in a single Serie A season in the last 45 years, after Christian Vieri (19 in 2002-03), Diego Milito (17 in 2011-12) and Mauro Icardi (16 in 2016-17 and in 2017-18).
The game was a milestone occasion for Conte, who was taking charge of his 100th Inter match in all competitions since arriving at the start of last season.
He has won 63 of those games, which is the most of any coach in their first 100 games with the Nerazzurri since 1929-30.
Conte did not speak to reporters before or after the game, but assistant Cristian Stellini praised his players for their attitude to see off Roma with the Scudetto already sealed.
"It's always good when you play with this desire and fighting spirit," he said at the post-match news conference.
"There was a little tension, but we managed to make it 15 wins in a row at San Siro.
"Nothing changes after winning the title. You have to continue with the same mentality and attitude, although we can play with a little more happiness."
One blemish for Inter was losing Alexis Sanchez to an apparent ankle sprain before half-time, but Stellini is expecting the forward to make a swift return to action in time for the weekend trip to Juventus.
"He took a blow to his ankle and lost a bit of sensitivity, so he wanted to come off," the Inter assistant said. "We think we can get him back for the next match in Turin."
Nottingham Forest’s response to VAR controversy ‘too emotional’ – Stuart Broad
Former England bowler Stuart Broad has criticised Nottingham Forest’s response to the VAR controversy at Sunday’s Premier League match against Everton as “slightly too emotional”.
Broad, the second-highest England Test wicket-taker, was made a CBE for services to cricket during a ceremony at Windsor Castle on Tuesday, and is a long-time fan of the football club.
Following Forest’s 2-0 loss at Everton, the club risked Football Association and Premier League sanction over their extraordinary response to three rejected penalty appeals.
In a statement on Sunday, the club said there had been “three extremely poor decisions – three penalties not given – which we simply cannot accept”, adding: “We warned the PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Limited) that the VAR is a Luton fan before the game, but they didn’t change him.”
On Tuesday, it was announced that the club would be given the opportunity to privately hear the VAR audio connected to the three penalty claims.
When asked about his thoughts on the VAR incident, Broad said: “Obviously, there’s been some natural frustration from everyone at Nottingham Forest: owners, players, manager fans, supporters, my friendship group are frustrated.
“I think it’s not just from the weekend, I think the frustration is built over the season, to be honest, from the decisions that the club have had.
“I think the statement straight after the game was probably quite emotional and maybe slightly misaligned with how the club would normally operate.”
Referring to the club’s statement on X, formerly Twitter, in which they claimed VAR Stuart Attwell “was a Luton fan”, Broad said: “Personally, I think that’s got nothing to do with the decision-making. I think it was just poor decision-making.
He continued: “I don’t mind the club showing emotion and passion because ultimately, that’s what sport’s about, but I think some of the words were slightly too emotional.”
Broad, 37, announced he was retiring from cricket during the fifth Ashes Test last summer and bowed out in spectacular fashion.
He hit a six off his final ball and took the final wicket as England won the match to level the series, although Australia retained the urn.
He came second in the public vote for the BBC’s 2023 Sports Personality of the Year in December and has been focusing on fatherhood and television punditry.
After the ceremony he said retirement had been “scary” but that he wanted to continue to “stay connected” to the sport.
When asked what was next, Broad said: “I want to stay in the game.
“It’s a great hobby of mine, it’s probably something I know the most about in the world, in my world, so I want to be able to share that feedback, whether that’s coaching, whether that’s punditry and commentary that I enjoy.
“But stay connected to the game, you know, I love it.”
I don’t expect political statements from Germany team -Thomas Hitzlsperger
German players are unlikely to make any major political statements at Euro 2024 after their World Cup protest in Qatar was met with a tepid domestic reception, ex-international Thomas Hitzlsperger has predicted.
Seven European nations at the 2022 global showpiece – including England – initially planned to wear ‘OneLove’ anti-discrimination armbands but were dissuaded following the threat of sporting sanctions from FIFA.
Instead, the Germans covered their mouths for a World Cup team photograph in protest, while the tournament remained overshadowed by the host nation’s record on human rights, from its treatment of migrant workers to the criminalisation of same-sex relationships.
Hitzlsperger, who bookended his playing career with spells at Aston Villa and Everton and a decade ago became the first former Premier League player to come out as gay, said: “It ended for the German team not in a good way. Funnily enough, back home a lot of people criticised it whereas abroad it was seen as a big statement.
“After the tournament, some of the representatives of the German national team just said, ‘look, at the Euros we talk about football, nothing else’. So I don’t expect much from the team similar to the World Cup.
“I think the England team were the first ones to play, and they decided against the One Love armband. A lot of the German players, they felt a responsibility, they felt ‘we’ve got to make a statement’.
“They couldn’t rely on the other teams. I think there were seven teams in the end that tried to stick together and wear the armband, and then they all collapsed, basically. And that’s when the Germans were like, ‘We still have to do something’.”
The former midfielder, who is now serving as an ambassador for this summer’s tournament in his home country, agrees that Germany’s poor showing likely influenced negative sentiment around the protest.
He said: “Football can be brutal. If you win, you set the tone and whatever you do it’s accepted and people look up to you. If you don’t win, you lose football matches, then you better not say anything.”
Even before the tournament, said the 42-year-old, the German public was already divided over whether or not the national team – or anyone – had a responsibility to act.
“It was a very difficult debate and it never came to a conclusion,” said Hitzlsperger.
“Some said it’s too much politics, others said it was right what we did, and that’s where we ended. That was our opportunity to say ‘we’re hosting a European Championship, let’s have a really good time together’, talk about responsibility when it comes to sustainability but don’t teach the world what to do.”
Organisers hope the tournament itself will instead do the talking, with ambitions to become be the most sustainable European Championship of all time through the use of entirely pre-existing stadia run by 100 per cent renewable energy sources, a zoned match schedule reducing travel distances for teams and fans, and the creation of a climate fund dedicated to projects focused on mitigating tournament-related unavoidable emissions.
It is also the second major football tournament, following in the footsteps of last summer’s Women’s World Cup, to sign a human rights declaration.
UEFA has stated EURO 2024 “embraces gender identities and expressions as a spectrum that is not limited to a binary concept”, with gender-neutral toilets available at all venues and similarly neutral lanes outside the stadia to accommodate a range of gender expressions for procedures like body checks.
Ultimately, says Hitzlsperger, “the German FA, UEFA, the German government and the foreign ministry, (will do) everything we can do, without putting the team under too much pressure to say ‘every game you have to make a statement’.
“You have to know who is responsible for what, and unfortunately what happened in Qatar really made the players aware of the consequences if you take a stance on human rights.”
Feyenoord coach Arne Slot in contention to replace Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool
Feyenoord coach Arne Slot has emerged as a leading candidate to succeed Jurgen Klopp when he leaves as Liverpool manager at the end of the campaign.
Slot guided the Dutch club to their first title in six years last season and currently has them in second place in the Eredivisie table having won the Dutch Cup at the weekend.
The PA news agency understands Liverpool consider Slot to fit all the criteria set out in their recruitment process, although they are still looking at other contenders.
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