Perhaps the ultimate reflection of the mayhem that comes with Mauro Icardi is that, even after an electrifying 20 goals in 28 games this season and a £52million fee, there is a feeling PSG might have made a mistake in buying him.
To be clear, Icardi was sensational in France this season. It takes a special calibre of player to galvanise a frontline that already has Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, all while reducing Edinson Cavani to a bit-part role. That's what Icardi has done.
But the Argentine, now 27 and in his peak years, often leaves a trail of destruction far worse than that on the pitch at the clubs he has previously played for.
Mauro Icardi joined PSG in a £52m transfer from Inter Milan after a season on loan in France
Icardi's form at PSG has galvanised their star-studded attack bit he is a controversial figure
Icardi is married to Wanda Nara (right) who was once with Icardi's old team-mate, Maxi Lopez
SHARE THIS ARTICLE
152 shares
Sampdoria, and specifically Maxi Lopez, can account for that. Icardi was plucked from Barcelona's La Masia academy by the Italian side, where he was a team-mate of Lopez's and had gotten to know him and his wife, Wanda Nara.
Icardi and Wanda ended up having an affair, projecting the three of them onto the front pages of Italy's gossip magazines and trashing any prospect of Lopez and Icardi ever playing in the same team again.
Inter Milan offered Icardi a route out, signing him in July 2013. The following year, Inter faced Sampdoria in what became known as 'The Wanda Derby'. Lopez refused to shake Icardi's hand.
By that point, Icardi and Wanda had become engaged, had each other's names tattooed onto their wrists and caused a stir on Twitter by talking to each other with the hashtag #Quindicina, supposedly a reference to the fact they once made love 15 times in 28 hours. Icardi also lived with Wanda and her three children - Lopez's three children.
But the lack of a handshake was just the start. Icardi, jeered throughout by Sampdoria fans, put Inter ahead after 13 minutes and celebrated in front of the rival supporters that were once his own. The atmosphere intensified and just five minutes later, Sampdoria got a penalty and Lopez stepped up. And missed. Inter won 1-0, Icardi the hero.
'If he carries on like this and we manage to get rid of a few of his excesses then he will become a great player,' Inter boss Walter Mazzari said. 'Up until the goal he carried himself perfectly. He should have returned to our side of the pitch afterwards and not made that gesture, even if it did not seem like a big deal to me.'
Maxi Lopez (centre) refused to shake hands with Icardi in a Serie A game in 2014
Icardi provoked Sampdoria fans with his celebration after scoring early on in the match
To rub salt in the wounds, Lopez then missed a penalty as Inter ran out 1-0 winners on the day
It seems fair to say that those excesses Mazzari mentioned still remain. Wanda now acts as Icardi's agent and representative, overseeing contract and transfer talks among other things. And some believe his relationship with her has played a part in what is a limited international career to date.
Lopez is also from Argentina, and according to Argentine journalist Bustos Milla, received the support of the public in his homeland at the expense of Icardi, who was even once labelled as a traitor by none other than Diego Maradona.
By October 2016, Icardi, now the captain, signed a new long-term deal at Inter worth £4m a season but in the same week, sparked the ire of the club's ultras by criticising them in a book. They responded at the next game by demanding he lost the armband, but Icardi was kept as skipper.
Wanda's role alongside Icardi meant that he is never far from centre stage. In April 2017, she gave an interview to Gente describing herself as 'the only wife who makes money for her husband. He's gone from being worth €14m to €250m.'
She often stoked uncertainty over Icardi's future at Inter, saying he nearly joined rivals Juventus the summer they signed Cristiano Ronaldo and hinting at moves to 'London, Paris or Madrid'.
Late in 2018, as Inter appointed a new director in Beppe Marotta, it was known the club wanted to sort a commitment securing Icardi's long-term future.
Italian paper Corriere dello Sport published a now infamous front page titled 'House of Icardi', comparing Wanda to House of Cards character Claire Underwood due to her stern, perhaps ruthless, approach to negotiating.
Wanda, Icardi's representative, has been compared to Claire Underwood in House of Cards
Her outspoken approach to Icardi's matters led to growing unrest between him and Inter
Things took a turn for the worst in 2019 - the sequence of events that ended with Icardi spending 2019-20 on loan at PSG.
Paper reports first emerged in January that Inter were fed up with dealing with Wanda and in February, amid tense contract talks, Icardi had the captaincy taken from him and was dropped from the Inter squad for the Europa League clash with Rapid Vienna.
'It was a difficult and painful decision, we all know his worth,' Inter coach Luciano Spalletti said. 'We made it together with all of the components of the club and it was done exclusively for the good of Inter and of the team.
'There are some things concerning the player that had to be worked out. He was disappointed, he was upset. It was difficult to tell him. These things embarrass the team, of which he was captain, and the club.'
He didn't play again until April 3, where he scored in a 4-0 win over Genoa.
'The case is closed in all respects,' Spalletti said. 'Now he needs to train, sweat, smell the grass and not talk through other people.'
In over six years, however, Icardi maintained relentless scoring form for the Italian side
Now in France and entering his peak, Icardi has a chance to be known for the right reasons
Spalletti was sacked as manager that summer and Antonio Conte took over. He didn't want Icardi in the squad and the Argentine hit back with a legal claim of discrimination, claiming 1.5 million euros ($1.7 million) in damages and to be allowed back into the first-team fold.
He claimed he was dropped from advertising campaigns and the team photoshoot for the 2019-20 season, as well as being excluded from the team's WhatsApp group and was deeply unhappy with Romelu Lukaku being given his No 9 shirt.
'It's not a question of money. What matters to Icardi is to be an integral part of Inter's plans,' Icardi's lawyer, Giuseppe Di Carlo, told Sport Mediaset.
But days later, Icardi was out the door and putting pen to paper on a loan deal with PSG, where he has produced some excellent form.
Indeed, any club, even one of PSG's riches, splashing out £52m in the coronavirus era is a reflection in part upon Icardi's scoring ability. But will it all end in tears? Only time will tell.
No comments:
Post a Comment