Chelsea on alert as No.9 striker facing uncertain future at European giants
Inter manager Luciano Spalletti states Mauro Icardi is refusing to play for Nerazzurri after being stripped of the captaincy.
Argentine star saw his skipper responsibilities stripped from him this week and was then not included in the roster that travelled to Austria to take on Rapid Vienna.
The Argentine forward, who is reportedly a long-term transfer target of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, is in the midst of a deal stand-off with Inter Milan.
Luciano spoke about the call to demote Mauro, and confirmed it was not his choice to leave the 25-year-old star in Italy.
‘The decision to remove the captaincy from Icardi was difficult and painful, absolutely shared by all the club members and taken for the good of Inter.’
‘He was called up for Vienna, but he did not want to be there.’ – Italian said.
Icardi’s representative, and wife Wanda Nara, has infuriated Nerazzurri with the comments she has made to the media.
Nara has spoken at length about Mauro’s future at Inter and even weighed in on Croatian star Ivan Perisic’s efforts to force his way out of Serie A in January.
Inter Milan reportedly took the decision to strip key man because he refused to take a stand versus his agent’s conduct, which was causing problems in the dressing room. Shot-stopper Samir Handanovic has been named as the club’s new skipper.
Maruo remains Inter Milan’s most influential player and has been a deadly goalscorer in his time at Nerazzurri. Icardi was given the captaincy back in 2015 and has netted 122 goals in 208 matches for the Italians.