Inter Milan's sporting director Piero Ausilio has revealed he set up a secret Instagram to spy on his players' partners "because the famous wife of a player was causing me problems".
Ausilio was speaking at an event in Milan where he discussed a wide range of topics, including transfers and social media. And the Inter chief made the revelation about his secret Instagram account when explaining some of the problems social media can pose to football clubs in the modern age.
"Now I confess one thing," he said. "I don't have an official Instagram account but I did set one up because the famous wife of a player was causing me problems.
"Many things can be understood from wives and girlfriends, including the footballer's personality. Then I also follow players, even from other teams. But I created it for a footballer's wife who was giving me so many problems."
During the same event, Ausilio also addressed Inter's pursuit of Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku and Manchester United's attempts to sign goalkeeper Andre Onana.
"I don't like to talk about timing, but about ideas," Ausilio said when asked about Lukaku. "Lukaku is an idea of ours, but he is a Chelsea-owned player.
"The dialogue never stopped with them, we know he cannot be handed to us for a second season on loan, so we are evaluating if it is possible to buy him outright. He knows full well that we want to bring him back here, we'll see if we can find the solution with Chelsea."
He also revealed that Inter are open to selling Onana, but have yet to receive an offer which matches their valuation. "At this moment, Onana is Inter's goalkeeper," Ausilio said. "He is one of the strengths of this squad and we would like to keep going with strong players.
"If opportunities arise, we will evaluate them, but as of today they either have not arrived or do not reflect our expectations. That is all for Onana, the pre-season training retreat starts on July 13 and he will turn up for that. If over the next 15-20 days there are movements, then we will evaluate them."
Ausilio also addressed reports linking Inter with Shakhtar Donetsk goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin, who has been mooted as a potential replacement for Onana. "He is a talent like many other players, Inter have the duty to observe and monitor those players, and Trubin is one of them," Ausilio admitted.
