18 players you (probably) forgot played for Inter

From Javier Zanetti to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, any and all manner of world-class footballers have donned the blue and black of Inter Milan.

Given their huge trophy haul over the years — which includes 20 Serie A titles and three Champions Leagues — that obviously shouldn’t come as a surprise.

But for every Wesley Snjeider or Lothar Matthaus there are a host of players you’ve likely forgotten played for the Nerazzurri altogether.

Here are 18 such examples.

1. Andrea Pirlo

Age: 45

Inter appearances: 40

Andrea Pirlo is a not just an Italian legend, he’s a football legend. A Champions League winner with AC Milan and 116-time international with Italy, Andrea Pirlo was and still is remembered as one of the greatest to play the game. But long before any of the aforementioned achievements, Pirlo spent three years trying to break into Inter’s starting XI as an attacking midfielder.

He only managed 40 appearances and was even loaned out to Reggina for the 1999-00 campaign before moving onto city rivals AC Milan, where he began writing his name in folklore.

2. Roberto Carlos

Age: 51

Inter appearances: 34

Roberto Carlos apparently came close to signing for Aston Villa in 1995 but ultimately ended up at Inter and gave Europe an early preview of his capabilities by scoring a 30-yard free-kick on his debut against Vicenza.

Despite scoring seven goals in 34 appearances during 1995-96 season, Carlos never settled at Inter thanks largely to then-manager Roy Hodgson’s insistence on fielding him as a winger. Real Madrid came calling in 1996 and, well, you know the rest of the story.

3. Dennis Bergkamp

Age: 55

Inter appearances: 74

Dennis Bergkamp treated us to moments of pure wizardry during his 11-year stay with Arsenal between 1995 and 2006, scoring 120 goals and lifting three Premier League titles. He’s also a legend at Ajax having fired them to Eredivisie, Uefa Cup and KNVB Cup crowns.

What is somewhat less obvious is the fact that, sandwiched between those two golden periods, Bergkamp spent two seasons with Inter Milan. His first campaign yielded 18 goals and a Uefa Cup winners’ medal. But in his second, Bergkamp managed just four goals in 26 appearances across all competitions, leading some to label his signing by Arsene Wenger as a gamble.

4. Edgar Davids

Age: 51

Inter appearances: 23

Whether it was playing for Crystal Palace in the Championship or signing as player-manager for Barnet, Edgar Davids did some pretty strange things during his career, especially considering the incredibly high esteem he’s held in. It’s little wonder, then, that between spells at Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur — yep, it keeps getting weirder — few remember he turned out 23 times for Inter. Davids initially signed on a three-year deal in 2004 but had his contract terminated after just one season before heading to Tottenham.

5. Leonardo Bonucci

Age: 37

Inter appearances: 4

Barring a one-year sojourn with AC Milan, Leonardo Bonucci was one of the cornerstones of Juventus’ all-dominating side in the 2010s, famously making up one part of the ‘BBC’ back-three alongside Giorgio Chiellini and Andrea Barzagli.

But what you may not know is that Bonucci actually kicked off his senior career with Inter Milan. Considering he made just four first-team appearances in four years, you’d be forgiven for forgetting.

6. Diego Forlan

Age: 45

Inter appearances: 20

After a subdued spell with Manchester United, Diego Forlan spent seven years between 2004 and 2011 becoming one of the most feared strikers in Europe, scoring 155 goals during combined spells for Villarreal and Atletico Madrid.

His final season at the latter yielded just 10 goals in 42 appearances and it looked like Forlan was ready to step down from the top. But Inter still felt the need to take a gamble on the veteran marksman in 2011. That gamble backfired and Forlan scored just two goals in 20 appearances for the Nerazzurri before going on to see out his career with spells in Brazil, Japan, his native Uruguay and India. He’s now a tennis pro. Seriously. Quite the journey!

7. Ricardo Quaresma

Age: 41

Inter appearances: 32

Has there been a more frustrating player than Ricardo Quaresma over the past 20 years? Given the talent at his disposal, the Portuguese winger should have achieved so much more, especially considering he’s turned out for the likes of Porto, Barcelona and Chelsea over the years.

Inter gave him a chance in 2008 as well and although he stuck around at the San Siro until 2010, he could only manage one goal in 32 appearances.

Quaresma was even given the ‘Bidone d’oro’ award for the worst footballer in the Italian top-flight during the 2008-09 campaign.

8. Xherdan Shaqiri

Age: 33

Inter appearances: 20

Another enigmatic winger who has never quite fulfilled his individual potential, Xherdan Shaqiri has still lifted league titles in Switzerland, Germany and England over the years. Sandwiched in-between spells at Bayern Munich and Stoke City — itself an irregular career path — was a one-year stay at Inter for the 2014-15 season. During his time in Italy, Shaqiri managed just one Serie A goal in 15 appearances as the Nerazzurri slumped to an eight-place finish.

9. Robbie Keane

Age: 44

Inter appearances: 14

If you think Shaqiri has had a strange career path, try taking a look at Robbie Keane’s. The Republic of Ireland’s record goalscorer has turned out for all manner of sides over the years, including Coventry City, Leeds United, Tottenham and Liverpool in England, Celtic in Scotland, LA Galaxy in the United States and ATK in India.

Among all that noise, Keane also made 14 appearances for Inter during the first half of the 2000-01 campaign, commanding a £13m transfer fee no less. But his Italian dream soon turned into a nightmare when Marcelo Lippi was replaced in the dugout by Marco Tardelli, who deemed Keane surplus to requirements. Having netted just three goals for Inter, he was shipped out on loan to Leeds where he took the Premier League by storm, making the move permanent just a few months later.

10. Lukas Podolski

Age: 39

Inter appearances: 18

We all remember the terrifying form of Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski at international level for Germany, while neither were too shabby at club level, either.

That said, Podolski undoubtedly enjoyed his best form for Koln and when tasked with performing for a bigger club, such as Bayern Munich and Arsenal, he often left fans frustrated.

That was also the case during his 18-game loan spell at Inter from Arsenal in 2015, when Podolski managed just one goal, although it was one hell of a strike in fairness.

11. Clarence Seedorf

Age: 48

Inter appearances: 93

A title winner in the Netherlands, Spain and Italy, the owner of the most ripped thighs you’re likely to see in football and the only player to win the Uefa Champions League with three different clubs (Ajax, Real Madrid and AC Milan), Clarence Seedorf is, quite simply put, a legend.

What you’re not likely to remember is the fact he spent two years with Inter between his trophy-laden spells with Los Blancos and the Rossoneri. But, rather than it being down to his own individual performance, that’s probably because the club didn’t bring any silverware home during that time.

12. Juan Sebastian Veron

Age: 49

Inter appearances: 74

There’s no doubt Juan Sebastian Veron was an incredibly gifted footballer — you only have to look back over his time with Lazio to see that. But his spell in England with Manchester United and Chelsea between 2001 and 2004 was incredibly frustrating. The Argentine playmaker was just unable to adjust to life in Britain — or stay consistently fit — and often finding himself forced out of the starting XI by the likes of Paul Scholes and Frank Lampard.

Such was his failure at Chelsea, Veron embarked upon a two-year loan spell at Inter between 2004 and 2006. He somewhat rediscovered himself at the San Siro, winning back-to-back Coppa Italia titles and the 2005-06 Serie A, although that was something of an anti-climax as Inter were only awarded the title due to the ‘Calciopoli’ match-fixing scandal.

13. Diego Godin

Age: 38

Inter appearances: 36

When you look back on Diego Godin’s career, you’ll immediately think of his time in Spain. He spent three years with Villarreal before being at the heart of Atletico Madrid’s defence as they won two Europa League titles and La Liga. There wasn’t a Diego Simeone defence without Godin.

But before winding down his career in South America, Godin spent some time in Italy. He had 18 months with Cagliari, but not before spending a year with Inter. The Uruguayan played 36 times for Inter across all competitions, with 18 coming in Serie A.

14. Victor Moses

Age: 33

Inter appearances: 20

Victor Moses has represented a lot of clubs, partly due to his part of Chelsea’s Loan Army. Liverpool are perhaps the most famous loan club, with Moses part of the Reds side that lost out on the Premier League title in 2013-14. Moses’ final loan from Chelsea was at Spartak Moscow, whom he would eventually join permanently.

But before moving to Moscow, Moses spent six months at Inter. It brought a reunion with Antonio Conte but there wasn’t as much success as their partnership at Chelsea. Thirteen of Moses’ 20 appearances for Inter came from the bench, and he provided two assists in Serie A. He’s now at Luton Town in the Championship.

15. Gabigol

Age: 28

Inter appearances: 10

Gabriel Barbosa, more commonly known as Gabigol, is a modern Flamengo legend. He fired the club to two Copa Libertadores titles in 2019 and 2022. Gabigol scored both goals in the 2019 final as Flamengo beat River Plate 2-1. It was a dramatic final too, as both of Gabigol’s strikes came in the dying stages to secure the comeback.

But some people may not have realised that Gabigol was only on loan at that time. His parent club were Inter. The Brazilian joined Inter in 2016 and spent just under four years with the Italian side, though he only played 10 times. The large part of his Inter career was spent on loan.

16. Cedric Soares

Age: 33

Inter appearances: 9

Fans in England will know Cedric Soares for his spells with Southampton and Arsenal. His loan move to Fulham may have been forgotten by some. Cedric joined Southampton from Sporting CP and quickly became part of their first-choice backline. But as playing time became more sparse, and before his move to Arsenal, Cedric spent some time at Inter.

It was just six months, in the latter half of the 2018-19 campaign, with Cedric playing nine times.

17. Joao Cancelo

Age: 30

Inter appearances: 28

Joao Cancelo has played for some of Europe’s biggest clubs. Juventus, Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Manchester City. And Inter Milan. Cancelo’s time at Inter came in the earlier stages of his career, before he made the move to Juventus. He was on loan from Valencia for the 2017-18 campaign, playing 28 times.

Of course, his recent clubs will be remembered more with Cancelo picking up three Premier League titles and the Bundesliga.

18. Ashley Young

Age: 39

Inter appearances: 59

Let’s be honest, you probably did forget Ashley Young played for Inter Milan before we reminded you. If you had to list all of Young’s clubs, Inter will probably be the last on your mind. Unless you were an Inter fan, of course.

Young actually spent 18 months at Inter between 2020 and 2021, lifting the Serie A title in 2020-21. During the title-winning campaign, Young played 26 times for Inter in the league, a regular choice at wing-back whether that was from the start or off the bench.