Lautaro Martínez seeks to close the book on his Champions League thorn after two lost finals

Two finals, two defeats, and one thorn that just won't come out: the Champions League. That's the tally Lautaro Martínez carries with him every time a new edition of Europe's most coveted tournament kicks off, and this year is no exception. Inter's captain steps back onto the continental stage loaded with goals, but also with that unfinished business he still hasn't managed to settle.

The Toro's history with the Champions League began in the 2018/19 season, just after his arrival in Italy from Racing. It was a modest debut: Inter were eliminated in the group stage, and Lautaro barely saw the field as he got his first taste of a competition that would, over the years, come to define his career. A year later came his first major European breakthrough, though it arrived through a side door: Inter finished third in their Champions League group and dropped into the Europa League, where they reached the final and lost 3-2 to Sevilla. Even then, it was clear the Argentine was starting to carry a different kind of weight.

The following two seasons, 2020/21 and 2021/22, followed the same script: group stage, then out. Nothing alarming for a player who kept growing, but the competition still eluded him once the knockout rounds arrived. The breakthrough came in the 2022/23 Champions League, the campaign that changed his European story. Inter built momentum as the tournament progressed, knocked out heavyweight opponents along the way, and Lautaro, an undisputed starter, ended up playing his first continental final in Istanbul.

That night against Manchester City, Inter had the match within reach. They competed toe to toe, but a goal from Rodri handed the English side the title and left the Toro with the first of his two deep Champions League wounds.

Redemption seemed to be on the horizon two years later. In the 2024/25 Champions League, Inter once again reached the final four in Europe and made it back to the final, this time against Paris Saint-Germain. Lautaro arrived as captain, as leader, as the defining name of a team dreaming of lifting the trophy. But PSG were ruthless and once again left Inter, and their captain, empty-handed.

A record that already belongs to club history

Beyond the two lost finals, there's one number that does work in Lautaro's favor: he became Inter's all-time leading scorer in Champions League history, surpassing forwards who left their mark on the nerazzurri jersey. In other words, he lost the finals, but he earned himself a place in the club's record books.

Will this be the season the Toro finally settles the score? At 29 years old, carrying the experience of two finals and wearing the captain's armband, Lautaro Martínez heads into a new Champions League campaign knowing exactly what it takes to go all the way. All that's missing is the hardest part: winning it.