Inter Milan Begins Champions League Journey Against Real Madrid
Inter Milan will launch their 2026-27 Champions League campaign in the harshest of arenas: the Bernabeu, under the lights, against Real Madrid on Tuesday night. It is a fixture dripping with history and subplots, and for Lautaro Martinez, it is also a test of how far this Inter side truly believes it can go.
Inter know this stage well. Three European Cups in the trophy room, the last of them lifted in 2010 under the man now sitting in the opposite dugout, Jose Mourinho. Since then, two finals lost in 2023 and 2025 have reopened old scars and sharpened new ambition.
For Martinez, that ambition is not some distant fantasy.
“It’s an objective,” the Inter captain said bluntly in his pre-match press conference. “We all have dreams, but this is more than just an obsession. We have to stay calm, we know that there are a lot of strong teams out there. It’s definitely a goal for us.”
He has repeated the same message since the day he arrived at San Siro: Inter must work, relentlessly, to deliver trophies. The Champions League is not a romantic idea. It is a target.
Mbappe, respect and “weapons” at the Bernabeu
Tuesday also throws up a head-to-head worthy of any marquee: Lautaro Martinez against Kylian Mbappe.
Mbappe, a self-confessed Milan fan, did not hide his admiration for the Nerazzurri in the build-up. He spoke of Inter as a club that “deserve immense respect” and hailed Martinez as one of the best centre-forwards in world football.
The compliments reached Milan, and Lautaro heard them. But he quickly turned the spotlight back on his own dressing room and on Cristian Chivu’s work.
“I’ve heard what he had to say,” Martinez responded. “We’ll be up against a team with lots of champions, but we have our own weapons and players who prove that they are at a top level year after year. We’ve prepared well, we’ve recovered our energy. We know who we’re playing against and Mbappe is definitely one of the best strikers in the world.”
Respect for Madrid’s stars, yes. Awe, no. Martinez underlined Inter’s tactical flexibility, their ability to adapt, to suffer, and still threaten in one of the most hostile environments in European football. Inter do not intend to be tourists in Madrid. They are travelling as contenders.
Alvarez, blocked moves and a friend in trouble
The questions did not stay on Real Madrid for long. International football and club politics soon intruded, in the shape of Julian Alvarez.
The Atletico Madrid forward has endured a turbulent spell in the Spanish capital. This summer, Alvarez made it clear he wanted out, with a strong desire to join Barcelona. Atletico’s hierarchy shut that door immediately, refusing to strengthen a direct domestic rival and leaving Alvarez to continue under Diego Simeone.
From Milan, Lautaro looked across Spain with a mixture of empathy and frustration.
“Alvarez is a friend of mine. It’s not an easy moment for him, but the decision was made by the President of his club. I hope he continues to show the level that he always has,” Martinez said.
It was a reminder that, behind the transfer sagas and boardroom decisions, there are players trying to protect careers and form. Lautaro’s support cut through the noise: a World Cup-winning striker backing another to ride out a storm he cannot control.
Life after Messi in the Albiceleste
Then came the subject that still hits a different nerve in Argentina: life after Lionel Messi.
Messi’s recent retirement from international football has formally closed an era that delivered the 2022 World Cup and a run to the 2026 final. Martinez lived every step of that journey alongside the number 10, sharing the dressing room, the pressure, the medals.
So, was the squad prepared for this moment?
“We all knew the time would come,” Lautaro admitted. “It was a major bit of news given what Leo means to the team and to all of us. I will take everything he taught us with me.”
The void is obvious. Messi’s goals, his genius, but also his quiet authority in the dressing room. Argentina now lean on a new core of leaders, with Martinez among those expected to carry the standard into the next cycle.
For now, though, his focus is Madrid. A Bernabeu showdown, Mbappe on the opposite side, Mourinho in the other dugout, and a Champions League campaign that Inter insist is not about dreams anymore.
It is about finally finishing the job.
