Former Inter coach Luciano Spalletti has revealed that stripping Mauro Icardi of the captaincy was the one approach to ‘maintain the group collectively’ after a bombshell assertion from the striker’s then-wife and agent, Wanda Nara, triggered turmoil within the dressing room.
Spalletti praised the Argentine as a ‘unbelievable participant’ throughout his two seasons in cost at San Siro, however off-pitch points started to floor in his ultimate yr, in the end forcing him to take decisive motion.
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“Mauro Icardi was the captain,” in his autobiography known as ‘Il Paradiso esiste, ma quanta fatica,’ which interprets into ‘The paradise exists, however what a wrestle.’
Luciano Spalletti Italy (Picture by Odd ANDERSEN / AFP) (Picture by ODD ANDERSEN/AFP through Getty Photos)
“A unbelievable participant, a predator within the field like few others. I bear in mind his lovely objectives within the derbies, particularly the one he scored with a header in stoppage time from a Vecino cross. Mauro was a key determine in that Inter of mine.”
Spalletti explains why he stripped Icardi of Inter captaincy
Nevertheless, at a time when Icardi was already struggling to match the scoring consistency of his earlier seasons, feedback made by Wanda Nara solely added gas to the hearth, triggering unrest throughout the dressing room.
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“That’s once I realised our captain’s weak spot had a reputation: Wanda. And she or he was threatening to pull the entire group down. That was one thing I couldn’t permit.
“Mauro was going by a tough patch football-wise — issues weren’t going his means. He wasn’t scoring like he used to.
“Then she mentioned that if folks needed Icardi to attain extra, they wanted to purchase gamers who might assist him do it. Higher gamers, principally — that was the concept. Insufferable. A bombshell.
“A type of statements that may’t be dismissed with a WhatsApp message, an Instagram story or a like. To make things better, we would have liked to speak nose to nose, the old school means.
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“There was just one approach to keep away from a struggle within the dressing room: Mauro Icardi needed to apologise. However he by no means did.
“The following day, I requested him, in entrance of all his teammates, to elucidate Wanda Nara’s phrases — to justify them in some way. It appeared just like the naked minimal, out of respect for everybody else.
Inter Milan’s Argentine ahead Mauro Icardi (L) and his spouse Argentine tv character, and soccer agent, Wanda Nara attend the Italian Serie A soccer match Inter Milan vs Lazio Rome on March 31, 2019 on the San Siro stadium in Milan. (Picture by Marco BERTORELLO / AFP) (Picture credit score ought to learn MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP through Getty Photos)
“Mauro replied that it hadn’t been his spouse Wanda talking, however his agent Nara, and that she had completed so solely in that function. It was an unmanageable state of affairs. There was no means ahead.
“I needed to say a few issues to him, take away the captain’s armband, and provides it to Handanović. The membership backed the choice — silently. Mauro took it badly. Very badly. In the long run, to maintain the group collectively, I misplaced Icardi — the person and the participant.”
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Each Spalletti and Icardi would depart Inter on the finish of that season, with the previous Nerazzurri captain making a transfer to PSG, earlier than heading to Galatasaray in 2022, the place he’s presently enjoying.
The previous Italy coach additionally described his in one other passage of his e-book.