Inter Milan icon Samir Handanovic has revealed that Roberto de Zerbi attempted to take him to Brighton and Hove Albion.

The 42-year-old is now retired after leaving Inter Milan in 2023. He had been with the Italian champions for 11 years after joining for €15m in 2012.

He went on to make 455 appearances for the club, tying him in 10^th in their all-time appearances. He also holds the record for the most penalty saves in Serie A history. He also has an elite number of clean sheets on his record (166).

Initially his time at the club wasn’t a happy one as he joined in the painful post-Treble decline. But he stayed fiercely loyal to Inter, eventually making his first Champions League appearance with them at 34.

Inter Milan icon

He was handed the captaincy in 2019 and saw his loyalty rewarded not long after as, between 36 and 39, he captained and led the club to five major trophies including the 2020/21 Scudetto, two Coppa Italia titles, and two Supercoppa Italiana trophies.

Ending his career with them was almost fitting. But he now admits that there were offers to go elsewhere, including from Brighton.

“After leaving Inter, was there another team? De Zerbi wanted me at Brighton,” he told Repubblica.

“I would have liked to see him work up close—even as a backup goalkeeper. There were also talks with Italiano’s Fiorentina, but nothing came of it. As for Udinese, I would love to return there as a coach.”

Eyes on the future

That move never happened, of course, and he instead decided to retire. And he admits he knew it was the right time to do so.

“How do you know when it’s time to retire? When the fire inside goes out,” he added.

“You go to the stadium, and you no longer feel that thrill. It wasn’t difficult for me to stop; I already knew what I wanted to do.

“I swapped the football pitch for the padel court. During a year spent as a scout for Inter, I studied to become a coach, and then I spent two years coaching the youth teams.”

He now has his eyes on the future. And the big goal is to manage the club he clearly loves.

“I dream of managing Inter,” he concluded.

“But one step at a time. In the meantime, I study the clubs I like: Fàbregas’s Como, Barcelona. I believe in achieving results through the way the team plays. I love the 4-3-3 formation and its variations, but formations don’t matter—it’s the ideas that count.”