Lautaro Martinez Aims for Champions League Glory Against Real Madrid

Inter Milan head into the Bernabeu on Tuesday night with the weight of history on their shoulders and a captain who refuses to treat the Champions League as a fantasy.

For Lautaro Martinez, it is not a dream. It is a target.

The Nerazzurri, three-time European champions, have spent the last decade and a half chasing the ghost of 2010, when Jose Mourinho – now in the opposite dugout with Real Madrid – led them to the treble. Since then, they have felt the sting of the final twice, in 2023 and again in 2025. Close enough to touch the trophy. Never close enough to lift it.

Martinez is tired of almost.

“It’s an objective,” he declared in his pre-match press conference, his tone as firm as the message. “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. Ever since I first came here, I’ve repeated that we have to work hard to deliver as many trophies as possible for Inter.”

No grand declarations, no slogans. Just a clear line drawn: Inter are in this competition to win it.

Mbappé’s praise, Inter’s response

The opening group game offers no gentle introduction. Real Madrid, under Mourinho again, in the Spanish capital. The Bernabeu. The anthem, the lights, the pressure.

And across the halfway line, Kylian Mbappé.

The Frenchman, a self-confessed Milan fan, has not hidden his admiration for Tuesday’s visitors. He has spoken of the respect Inter deserve, and he has singled out Martinez as one of the finest centre-forwards in the game. Compliments from one of the sport’s biggest stars, right before the first whistle.

Martinez heard them. He acknowledged them. Then he pushed the conversation back to the collective.

“I’ve heard what he had to say,” the Inter captain 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 Mbappé is definitely one of the best strikers in the world.”

There it is again: respect, not fear. Inter know Real Madrid’s pedigree, know Mbappé can rip open any defence in a heartbeat, but Martinez leans into Cristian Chivu’s work on the training ground. He talks about tactical flexibility, about a side that can adapt and bite back, even in Madrid’s own arena.

Inter arrive as underdogs by reputation, not by conviction.

A word for Álvarez amid Atleti turmoil

The conversation around Martinez did not stop at club level. The Argentina captain’s responsibilities stretch far beyond Milan and Madrid.

His international teammate Julián Álvarez finds himself in the middle of a storm at Atletico Madrid. The forward wanted out this summer, with a clear preference for Barcelona. Atletico’s hierarchy shut the door, refusing to strengthen a direct rival. The result: Álvarez stays in Madrid, under Diego Simeone, but not by choice.

Martinez did not dodge the subject.

“Álvarez is a friend of mine,” he said. “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.”

No criticism of Atletico, no transfer drama stirred up. Just support for a teammate and a reminder of the standards Álvarez has already set. The bond inside that Argentina dressing room clearly runs deeper than club colours or league borders.

Life after Messi

Then came the topic that hangs over all of Argentine football: Lionel Messi’s farewell to the national team.

Martinez, who lifted the 2022 World Cup alongside Messi and then marched with him all the way to the 2026 final, knows better than most what that departure means. The squad had time to brace for it. That does not make the void any smaller.

“We all knew the time would come,” he 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.”

Messi’s absence changes the landscape. The armband, the dressing-room silence before kick-off, the decisive moment when someone has to step forward – all of that now belongs to others. Martinez speaks like a man who understands that shift and accepts it.

On Tuesday night, in Madrid, he carries that weight into another cathedral of the game. No Messi, no safety net, no illusions.

Just a captain walking into the Bernabeu believing Inter’s time in Europe is not a dream to be admired from afar, but a prize to be hunted down.