Mauro Icardi is and remains one of the top number 9s in circulation. He has already scored 18 goals and provided 7 assists in 31 matches, split between the Turkish Super Lig and the Champions League, where the Yellow-Red Lions narrowly missed advancing in the knockout stage in a group with Manchester United and Bayern Munich (with FC Copenhagen surprisingly advancing), falling into the Europa League. His remarkable start to the season has reignited numerous transfer rumors around the Argentine striker.
A STEPS AWAY FROM REAL MADRID
Back in January 2024, the Merengues seriously considered the idea of adding a new center-forward to join Joselu, Rodrygo, and the injured Vinicius. Contacts with Icardi and his entourage were concrete, and the player approved the transfer. The negotiations continued for about 7 days, during which the two clubs, however, failed to reach an agreement. Firstly, the return timeline for Vinicius shortened, and secondly, Florentino Perez and his team were aiming for a low-cost deal, while Galatasaray wanted to balance the books immediately from the potential sale (at least 10 million) to dive back into the transfer market.
ITALY’S LONGING AND INTER’S DESIRE
According to ‘Calciomercato’ Icardi and his family want to return to Italy and have been proposed to all the top clubs without restrictions but with a declared preference. Icardi feels like an Inter player, and for Inter, he is willing to reduce his salary and return without putting pressure or creating controversy, even in a fourth striker role if Alexis Sanchez had left.
However, at Inter, that door has not been reopened so far, also due to the active role of Wanda Nara in the public eye and past disagreements related to the then departure. Besides Inter, no other top club has chosen to invest in the attacking department, postponing everything to the next summer.
