The ongoing saga of Mauro Icardi and Inter seemed to have concluded this week. Drama was not too far for the striker both on and off the field. Although this seemed to be a continuing trend, it wasn’t all bad memories.
Career with Inter
Icardi joined Inter at the start of the 2013-14 season for the fee of €6.5M + €6.5M. His first season he managed to score 9 goals in his 23 appearances for the club. He missed the first half of the season due to injury. Throughout the season Icardi was criticized, but he proved the doubters wrong, and silenced the critics.
The 2014-15 season saw Icardi really start to shine for the Nerazzuri. In his 48 games for the club he managed to put 27 into the back of the net. His 22 goals in the Serie A was more than enough to secure him the golden boot (tied with Luca Toni).
The 2015-16 season saw Icardi manage 16 goals in his 33 appearances. This season was instrumental the Icardi. The 2015-16 season saw the captains armband move from Andrea Ranocchia to Icardi. Mauro Icardi remained at Inter even with a €30M bid from Manchester United.
Icardi scored 20+ goals again in the 2016-17 season. He scored 26 goals in 41 games for Inter. He managed to score 24 of those goals throughout the Serie A season. It was this season that Icardi matched a record set by Christian Vieri and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Scoring 15+ goals in 3 consecutive seasons.
Icardi played out the 2017-18 season, leading Inter to return the Champions league football. Inter concluded the season in fourth place, granting them qualification to the competition. Icardi was instrumental throughout the season. Scoring 29 goals in the 34 Serie A matches he played. Mauro’s goal tally of 29 was enough to secure the golden boot (tied with Ciro Immobile) for the second time in 4 seasons.
Most recently throughout the 2018-19 season Icardi scored 17 goals in 37 appearances. Most impressively he scored 4 goals in 6 champions league fixtures. In January of 2019 the captaincy was handed to Handanovic following off the pitch drama with Icardi.
Off the Pitch
The story of Icardi was as entertaining off the pitch as it was on the pitch. Drama was never too far away for the Argentine striker. 2014 saw Icardi marry former teammate Maxi Lopez’s wife Wanda Nara. This caused much speculation amongst teams and players throughout the world. All this drama with Maxi Lopez seemed to have impacted his chances within the national team.
Icardi caused a farce when his autobiography was release in late 2016. Titled ‘Sempre Avanti’ (Always forward) Icardi caused issues with the Curva (inter fans) and as a result received death threats and calls to leave the club. Inter requested that Icardi pay a fine, as well as remove the chapter from the book.
The actions of Icardi and his wife/manager Wanda in early 2019 spelled the deterioration of his Inter career. As previously mentioned, Inter stripped the captaincy from Icardi, Following comments by his wife. He then refused to play for Inter in their Europa league fixture against Rapid Wien. Upon the conclusion of the season, newly appointed manager Antonio Conte stated there was no need for him in the team. Emotions reached boiling point when Icardi commenced legal proceedings against the club. As a result, this forced Inter’s hand and he was offered on loan to PSG.
Icardi was a great asset to Inter, becoming Inter’s 8th best goal scorer (123 goals). Although he was always under the microscope, Icardi always managed to perform. More often the not, the drama was due to his wife/manager Wanda Nara. The question begs to be answered, if she wasn’t his manager or wife, would he still be playing for Inter?
The rollercoaster has yet to come to an end, but in the meantime – thank you Icardi for everything you have done for Inter, all the best with your future at PSG.
