Former Inter Milan president Ernesto Pellegrini, under whom several prominent German players moved to Lombardy, has died at the age of 84. The Nerazzurri will wear black armbands in his memory in the Champions League final.
Former Inter president Ernesto Pellegrini has died at the age of 84. Inter Milan announced the sad news just hours before the kickoff of the Champions League final. “For eleven years, he led Inter with wisdom, honor, and determination, leaving an indelible mark on the history of our club,” the Lombards said in memory of Pellegrini this morning.
In 1984, the restaurant entrepreneur took over the club from his hometown and celebrated great successes with it: In 1989, the Nerazzurri won the Scudetto with a record 58 points (at that time, a win was worth only two points), followed in the 1990/91 season by their first international triumph in 26 years on the European stage with the UEFA Cup, which they repeated three years later.
Pellegrini also had a major influence on German players at the Lombardy club: former president Karl-Heinz Rummenigge had already moved to Inter Milan in 1984. The 69-year-old spent three years there and was the only German to be inducted into the Italian Hall of Fame.
Rummenigge, Mätthaus and Co. moved to Milan
“It is with great sadness that I learned of the death of Ernesto Pellegrini. He was not only an extraordinary president in the history of Inter Milan, but also a great person—full of warmth, kindness, and foresight.“ ”I owe it to him that I was able to join this special club in 1984. The years in Milan were formative for me, both athletically and personally—thanks in part to his trusting and fatherly nature. My deepest sympathy goes out to his family and all those close to him.”
However, the current member of the FC Bayern Munich supervisory board was not the only one to make the move. Lothar Matthäus, Jürgen Klinsmann, and Andreas Brehme also followed Pellegrini’s call and moved to Milan before the Milan native finally sold his shares in 1995.
In 2020, Inter Milan inducted the former president into the club’s Hall of Fame and awarded him a special prize. As a further tribute to Pellegrini, the Nerazzurri will wear black armbands in tonight’s Champions League final against Paris St. Germain.