Following a stunning victory over reigning Serie A Champions, Juventus over the weekend, Inter captain Mauro Icardi has now revealed that he was never interested in leaving the San Siro in the summer.
The Argentine international has an impressive record against Juventus having scored seven times in eight games against them. On the night, he was impressive scoring the equalizer before delivering the cross for Ivan Perisic’s winner.
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Icardi, who was reported to be unhappy in the summer after making demands for an improved contract was the subject of interest of Premier League clubs Arsenal and Liverpool as per reports in the Mirror.
The youngster has now revealed that the idea of leaving San Siro was never a possibility as the club had shown ambition in the summer by bringing in a new coach in the form of Frank De Boer. Additionally, the club spent a sum of around €130 Million in the summer bringing in the likes of Candreva, Gabriel and Joao Mario.
Icardi has pledged his allegiance to the club after stating, "I want to win with this shirt. I want to stay here. I am comfortable in the city and I never thought about leaving this team" as reported in the Mirror. An improved contract which is worth a reported €4.5m per season plus bonuses was recently signed by the Argentine and on the basis of the performance on the weekend it seems like a very small sum for the new owners.
The Nerazzurri who were recently acquired by Chinese owners from the Suning Commerce Group have repeatedly failed to live up to expectations ever since Mourinho, led them to a treble winning season in 2010. Over the years, the Milan side has finished second, sixth and then ninth in the standings over successive seasons.
The last couple of seasons though has seen an improvement to positions eight and fourth. The Milan club will be looking to challenge Juve for the title this time around with their revamped squad and new manager.
De Boer who was brought in the summer, has vowed to change the team and considers Icardi an integral member of the squad. Having lost their mid-week fixture against Hapoel Be’er Sheva in the Europa League, the pressure was on the players. Icardi instead arrived in full flow and was on hand to lead his teammates to a very impressive victory.
After the match, Icardi’s wife and agent Wanda, took to social media, calling her husband “The best number 9 in the world”. The striker brushed off the compliment and said that it would be his aim to be the best in the world as he believes he can improve further, which will be music to Inter fans.
