Inter Milan president Beppe Marotta insists he's happy seeing Luka Modric make a big impact with city rivals AC Milan.
The former Real Madrid, 40, has been a revelation in his first months in Serie A.
Marotta said at a football function yesterday: "I don't see it as worrying, on the contrary, I also see him as a positive outlet for Italian football because our children and grandchildren, watching a player like that, as happens to us who are older, fall in love and it's not just theoretical. Maybe they want to repeat his feats in training and learn a lesson from it.
"The problem is that the slope is always downhill in our football, we are a transitional league, we are no longer the Eldorado like in the 2000s. Today the important footballer arrives when he is 40 years old, competitive and economic power leads you to those profiles.
"Real Madrid signed Mastantuono for 60 million euros, the Italian teams if they sign a 2004, a 2005 or a 2006 spend 30-35 million a Maximum. The acquisition market is very limited. Then there's another factor: big clubs like Inter, Milan, Juventus, Roma, Napoli, and Atalanta have resorted to capital gains.
In 2000, it was rare to see clubs selling players; today, without resorting to capital gains, we wouldn't be able to present an adequate balance sheet. That's the big difference, and it's due to the fact that their foreign TV rights were sold for 10 times what we sold them for."