Italy Star Reveals Backstory On Transfer To Inter Milan – Adds ‘I Asked Conte To Loan Me Out 50 Times’ | OneFootball

Alessandro Bastoni admits that he wanted to leave Inter Milan on loan while Antonio Conte was coach of the club.

Speaking on the BSMT podcast, via FCInterNews, Bastoni looked back on his move to the Nerazzurri, and his early years at the club.

Alessandro Bastoni joined Inter Milan from Atalanta in the summer of 2017.

The Italian international stayed on loan with La Dea for a season. Then he spent the 2018-19 campaign with Parma.

However, in 2019, Bastoni became a part of the Inter first team setup.

This was the same summer that Antonio Conte arrived as coach.

The current Napoli and former Chelsea and Juventus coach put his faith in Bastoni right away.

Alessandro Bastoni: “Asked Conte To Loan Me Out 50 Times”

COMO, ITALY – FEBRUARY 23: SSC Napoli coach Antonio Conte looks on before the Serie A match between Como 1907 and SSC Napoli at Stadio G. Sinigaglia on February 23, 2025 in Como, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Bastoni said that he found out he’d be joining Inter “the year before I went out on loan to Parma.”

“I was at a gas station, I met with my agent. He said to me: ‘Listen, do you want to join Inter?'”

“And there was nothing after that,” Bastoni recalled. “I didn’t hesitate. I immediately said yes.”

“Then obviously from there, I wouldn’t have guessed that I’d become a regular starter at Inter in such a short time.”

“I didn’t play at Atalanta,” Bastoni looked back on the 2017-18 season. “And then I had a good season with Parma.”

“Then, I came back to Inter when Conte was there,” he continued.,

“There were a lot of quality defender. Skriniar, de Vrij, Godin. I thought I would never play.”

Bastoni admitted that “I asked him to go out on loan.”

“I asked him fifty times. But he didn’t want to hear it.”

“He wanted to keep me at all costs,” Bastoni said of Parma. “And then in October, he started to play me.”

As far as why Conte trusted him so early, Bastoni said that “he’s a football fan.”

“I’m sure he saw all my matches for Parma. He’s very focused, and he pays attention to these things.”

“In my opinion, he saw some qualities that Inter were lacking at the time. Because I was the only left-footed player in the entire defense at the time.”

“And playing with a back three, he needed that,” Bastoni said.

The 26-year-old also noted that Conte “knew that at first, I wasn’t ready.”

“Because making such a big leap isn’t easy.”

“But then he saw that I had potential,” Bastoni said of his former coach. “That I could do well.”

“And then he had the most important thing: the courage to throw me into the team.”

Bastoni Admits: “I Still Haven’t Rewatched 2023 Champions League Final Highlights”

MILAN, ITALY – FEBRUARY 22: Alessandro Bastoni of FC Internazionale reacts after a missed chance during the UEFA Champions League round of 16 leg one match between FC Internazionale and FC Porto at San Siro Stadium on February 22, 2023 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Then Alessandro Bastoni talked about the 2023 Champions League final. Inter lost that match to Manchester City, though only by the narrowest of margins.

Bastoni admitted that he “had a really tough time” after that final.

“You struggle to sleep,” he said. “Because then you dream about things during the match.”

“You don’t know how many more times you’ll play in a Champions League final.”

Bastoni said that “I’d rather lose it 10-0 than lose the way we lost it.”

“Because there was the perception that we could have done it.”

The 26-year-old then admitted that “I’ve still never rewatched the highlights from that match.”

“It makes me too nervous. It makes me sad, it hurts.”

“And not knowing if you’ll be able to play in a match like that again destroys you,” said Bastoni. “It eventually becomes a motivation, but it isn’t easy.”

Then, Bastoni said that derbies against AC Milan are the most important matches for Inter “because the vast majority of the time, something important is at stake.”

“We recently faced them for a place in the Coppa Italia final. And in the Champions League semifinals as well.”

“A bit less than a year ago, we clinched the Scudetto in Milan’s home,” Bastoni added.

“So in those cases, it becomes even more beautiful. There’s even more motivation.”