Sporting director Piero Ausilio has confirmed that Inter rejected Manchester United’s offer for Ivan Perisic this summer because they are convinced they can be as successful as Manchester United

Perisic was linked to United all summer, but Luciano Spalletti was important in persuading the Croatia international to stay at the San Siro and sign a new Contract until 2020, which does not have a release Clause.

“Nobody denies that this offer from Manchester United arrived, but we and Spalletti wanted him to be a key player for us and we were convinced that our project could be just as successful as the one the English club were offering,” Ausilio told Mediaset.

“Ivan never asked to leave and his new contract is the logical consequence of that. There was no need to insert any kind of release clause in it.”

Perisic has been influential in Inter’s unbeaten start to the season with three goals and as many assists in the first five games of the season.