Inter Milan’s captain and talisman, Lautaro Martinez, could finally get his flowers with a goal in the Champions League final.
The Argentine has led from the front in Inter’s charge to Munich, scoring a team-leading nine goals, with only four players from other clubs managing more.
Martinez has reached Munich knowing one more goal and one more win will make him a legendGettyMost have them have been plenty meaningful too, with a strike against Feyenoord in the last 16, two in the quarter-final versus Bayern Munich and one in the semis against Barcelona.
Only five players have managed that and then done so again in the final, an elite quintet Martinez will be desperate to join.
Two fellow Argentines have done it in Lionel Messi (Barcelona, 2010/11) and Diego Milito (Inter, 2009/10).
If that’s not good enough, Frank Lampard (Chelsea, 2007/08), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid, 2013/14) and Sadio Mane (Liverpool, 2017/18) are the other world class talents to have achieved the feat.
The record isn’t a guarantee of success, though, as Lampard and Mane both still lost the final, something Martinez will be looking to avoid against Paris Saint-Germain.
However, a strike would still give him club history either way, as no Inter player has scored more goals in a major European season before.
Milito didn’t manage it, and neither did footballing legends like Ronaldo Nazario, Adriano and Samuel Eto’o.
In fact, Martinez is already above them as an Inter great with the most Champions League goals in the history of the three-time winners.
The 27-year-old surpassed Sandro Mazzola’s record of 17 for the club earlier in the campaign, and has since extended his lead with 21 overall.
Martinez will be desperate to add another goal, given that he only got three in Inter’s last run to the final in 2022/23 where they lost 1-0 to Manchester City.
The Argentinian has been Inter’s player of the competitionGetty Martinez is an Inter legend, and wants the same status in EuropeIt was a heartbreaking moment for the Argentine who’d experienced a personal low during a career high in 2022.
The former Racing Club striker started as first choice for his country in Qatar but was dropped after just two games, with Italian outlet Gazzetta dello Sport calling him ‘completely invisible’.
Julian Alvarez instead became Lionel Messi’s partner up top in their triumph, with Martinez back to the drawing board.
Yet he’s since responded in almighty fashion as Argentina’s best player at the 2024 Copa America, scoring five goals including the trophy-clincher in the final against Colombia.
Now undoubtedly one of the game’s best strikers, Martinez could achieve immortality in the final against PSG, and it’s hard to argue that he doesn’t deserve it.
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