Javier Zanetti, the vice-president of Italian football giant Internazionale, has poured cold water on the prospect of the club building a new stadium – but admitted that it was planning to develop a “state-of-the-art” academy.

Zanetti, who captained the team to Champions League glory in 2010, said instead that the new Chinese owner of the club – the Suning Group – wanted to renovate its existing San Siro stadium.

“We definitely want to stay at the San Siro and renovate it,” said Zanetti at a conference in the University of Milan.

“It’s clearly the best choice for us. What we do want is to build a state-of-the-art academy.”

The club currently trains at its Angelo Moratti sport centre base near Appiano Gentile.

Internazionale has told Milanese mayor Giuseppe Sala that the club wants to stay at the venue, which it shares with city rival AC Milan.

AC Milan had been trying to find a way to build its own stadium, but plans to build an Arup-designed venue in the north of the city fell through in September 2015.