OFFICIAL: Inter Terminate Joao Mario’s Contract

Inter has announced that it came to an agreement with Joao Mario to terminate the Portuguese midfielder’s contract.

Via inter.it

MILAN - FC Internazionale Milano can confirm that an agreement has been reached with Joao Mario for the early termination of his contract with the club.

The 28-year-old had one year left on his deal but an early exit makes sense for all parties involved. Inter had been planning to sell him to Benfica but a clause in the original purchase from Sporting CP blocked Mario from joining another Portuguese club. Inter couldn’t find a way past that obstacle without paying a €30 million fine to Sporting. It obviously made no sense for Inter to proceed with such a costly course of action, so releasing Mario from his contract was the next best move. He’ll now be able to join Benfica as a free agent while Inter gets its biggest transfer fail in recent times off the books once and for all. Missing out on the €7.5 million Benfica had been willing to pay isn’t ideal but getting rid of Joao Mario once and for all is a prize in and of itself.