On 27 December 2010, Inter bought the remaining 50% registration rights of Ranocchia from Genoa for €12.5 million, valuing him at €19 million in total, which was later confirmed by Genoa chairman Enrico Preziosi who expressed his delight at doing business with Inter. The chairman of Inter, Massimo Moratti, spoke on the transfer to Sky Italia and said: "Finally an Italian. We had kept an eye on him from before. It is our project to go ahead with young players." On 9 January 2011, Ranocchia made his Inter debut in a 2–1 win over Catania in Serie A. He made his Champions League debut against Bayern Munich in the first leg of the round of 16; Inter eventually progressed to the quarter-finals where they were eliminated by eventual semi-finalists Schalke 04. Ranocchia completed his first season with Inter by attaining a second-place finish in Serie A, also winning the 2010–11 Coppa Italia; the following season, however, Inter lost out to Serie A Champions and cross-city rivals Milan in the 2011 Supercoppa Italiana Final.