The Argentine striker and club captain spoke to La Gazzetta dello Sport in a wide-ranging interview following Inter Milan's Serie A and Coppa Italia double triumph under head coach Cristian Chivu, providing the most candid account yet of how close the club's recent season came to unravelling entirely.
"I am not saying I asked to leave, but inside me I felt that if an important offer had come, perhaps... I was devastated."
Lautaro described a period of complete physical and emotional shutdown that followed Inter's exit from the Club World Cup in the United States. He spent three weeks on holiday without training, eating freely and deliberately disconnecting from football.
"I ate and that was it. When I came back I weighed a bit more."
The recovery, he said, came partly through the interview he gave after the Fluminense match — a post-Club World Cup statement that generated significant controversy but which Lautaro now believes was necessary to force a change in the club's atmosphere.
"That outburst was also the secret that allowed Inter to restart, because speaking publicly made noise and made the team react. I also had something against myself, because I was not without blame."
Lautaro was generous in his tribute to Simone Inzaghi, the manager who left the club in the summer, but reserved particular praise for Cristian Chivu, the 44-year-old Romanian who succeeded him and immediately transformed the internal climate.
"I want to thank Simone Inzaghi for the four years spent in Milan and the many trophies we won together. But I want to highlight the merits of Cristian Chivu, who gave us back serenity and brought together an environment that was in great difficulty."
Chivu became only the fifth manager in Inter's history to win the league and cup double in his first season in charge. Lautaro was his captain throughout, scoring 24 goals across all competitions.