After the World Cup debacle
“He has to leave Italy for his own good”
April 3, 2026 – 9:48 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
Italy missed the World Cup for the third time in a row. Since then, there has been great unrest in the football nation.
Coach, sports director and president gone, criticism from all sides and frustration among the fans. The Italian national team has had a few tough days after missing the World Cup qualification. The disappointment is great. Even though Italian football has seen better times, the national team actually has the quality to take part in the World Cup. However, some key players were unable to access this.
Including Alessandro Bastoni, actually one of the best central defenders in the world. But Inter’s left-footer was shown a red card in the first half of the crucial playoff game in Bosnia-Herzegovina. For this he received a lot of criticism from fans and the media. Too much, says Giuseppe Bergomi. The 62-year-old former international said on Radio Nerazzurra: “For me he is a friend, he is very close to my heart. (…) Now he has to leave Italy for his own good.”
Bergomi continued: “We are losing an exceptional talent, one of the best defenders in modern football. I am very sorry, but I believe that for his own good he needs to find a club abroad.” A change of scenery would be good for the 26-year-old, Bergomi is sure. There are a few people interested in Bastoni, FC Barcelona, Liverpool FC and Chelsea are said to have kept an eye on the Italian.
Bastoni’s contract in Milan is valid until 2028, so a transfer fee would be due if the defender wants to leave Inter at all. The portal “transfermarkt.de” estimates its market value at around 70 million euros. It remains to be seen whether such a sum is actually realistic.
