Analyzing Inter's Transfer Policy in Wake of Sandro Mazzola Comments

Inter legend Sandro Mazzola recently expressed skepticism regarding Nerazzurri owner Erick Thohir's willingness to financially commit to improving the squad.

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Inter legend Sandro Mazzola fears patron Erick Thohir “doesn’t want to spend money” on improving the team http://t.co/dxiGYdKSvV #FCIM

— footballitalia (@footballitalia) October 13, 2014 "

Thohir purchased a majority stake in September 2013, ending Massimo Moratti's 18-year tenure at the head of the Milan outfit.

Before we discuss Inter's transfer activity under Thohir, let's take a look back at Moratti's time as principal owner.

Moratti took over during a period in which Inter were mired in obscurity and led the club back into Serie A prominence.

During his term, the Nerazzurri won five consecutive Scudetti between 2006 and 2010, four Coppa Italia titles and a UEFA Champions League trophy in the 2009-10 season when Inter became the first Italian club to win the treble—the league title, league cup and Champions League all in the same season.

That's quite a remarkable run, and you may be wondering just how Moratti engineered Inter's dominion over Serie A. A confluence of factors undoubtedly attributed to the club's success, but the short answer to that question would simply be: money.

Via Transfermarkt, in every season between 1997 and 2004, Moratti spent in excess of €50 million bringing in new talent. During that span, Inter attracted the likes of Fabio Cannavaro, Hernan Crespo, Ronaldo, Clarence Seedorf,  Francesco Toldo and Christian Vieri, all in deals worth over €20 million.

Even after that lavish run, the petroleum magnate brought in Christian Chivu, Samuel Eto’o, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Diego Milito, Giampaolo Pazzini, Andrea Ranocchia, Walter Samuel and Wesley Sneijder, just to name some of his other €15 million-plus signings.

Football has increasingly become a game of economics, with the uber-wealthy teams snatching up most of the prized talent, leaving smaller clubs unable to financially compete.

A cursory look at Europe's top five leagues is evidence enough—rarely will one find a team of lesser financial capability, and subsequently lesser buying power, truly challenging the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, PSG and Manchester City.

While there is plenty of on-the-pitch parity in today's football, the summer transfer market has become a veritable auction house, with youngsters dubbed, "The next (insert superstar name here)" often being sold for exponentially more than they're actually worth.

Failure to adapt to this trend means effectively resigning to the inevitability of not competing, in earnest, for European supremacy.

Look no further than Inter's cross-town rivals Milan as evidence for how precipitous the decline can be if the front-office decides to sell their best players, fail to replace them with adequate talent and begin scrounging Europe's bargain bin.

Because there simply isn't as much money in the Italian top flight as there is in the Spanish and English iterations nowadays, the peninsula's elite are at a significant disadvantage when attempting to lure stars to their league.

And here is where we arrive at Thohir's Nerazzurri.

Felice Calabro'/Associated Press

A few months after he took over, the 2014 January transfer window had arrived, and what better way to endear the new ownership to the supporters than bringing in a top player?

Thohir did just that when he sanctioned the deal that brought Brazilian international Hernanes from Lazio to the San Siro.

Nerazzurri supporters would have hoped the club's brass would build on their impressive January transfer window the following summer—it would be Thohir's first summer window, and it's traditionally in the warmer months that marquee signings are made.

The summer window came and went, and while Inter were able to bring in some impactful players, you'd be hard-pressed to find a signing with which fans were genuinely happy.

The polarizing duo of Yann M'Vila and Pablo Osvaldo were brought in on loan, as was the highly rated, Roma-owned Dodo.

Inter re-signed former youth player Rene Krhin, clinched the former best centre-back in the world, Nemanja Vidic, on a Bosman and brought in Gary Medel, a no-nonsense midfield destroyer coming off a mediocre campaign in the Premier League.

According to Transfermarkt.com, that total outlay adds up to just over €12.1 million—a paltry sum for a club like Inter especially after a season where they finished 42 points behind champions Juventus and 25 points behind runners-up Roma.

In fact, the last time the club spent less than €30 million was the 2004-05 season. A new owner in tow and the Nerazzurri spent the least amount of money as they had in a decade.

They let Diego Milito, Ishak Belfodil and Antonio Cassano—not to mention letting last season's breakout star Ricardo Alvarez leave on loan—depart, recouping a measly €3.5 million, and failed to bring in any new attackers, save for a loan for the volatile Osvaldo.

All things considered, it was a curious transfer window for the Nerazzurri. At a time when Thohir could have asserted his financial power, his dealings showed a lack initiative and focus at a time when Serie A is increasingly becoming a two-horse race.