for places in a squad which features
Gonzalo Higuain, Paulo Dybala, Sergio
Aguero and Lionel Messi, to name but
the most obvious. But Argentinian
commentators have also suggested that
Icardi’s “betrayal” of his team-mate might
have something to do with his lack of
call-ups. Back in 2013, Diego Maradona,
not necessarily the first person to come
to mind when one thinks of the moral
high ground, felt the need to pronounce
thus on the Icardi-Lopez-Nara triangle.
“As far as I am concerned, Icardi is a
traitor,” he told Argentinian station Radio
Pop. “He goes to the guy’s home, makes
out that he is a great friend and then
steals his wife. I call that betrayal.
“In my days, if a guy dared to even
look at a team-mate’s wife, we would
have been queuing up in the dressing
room to beat him up.”
Maradona’s words reflect the opinions
of many and may also sum up those
of Messi with regard to the current
Argentinian squad.
Speaking on the eve of Russia 2018,
former Argentina international Hernan
Crespo became the umpteenth person to
suggest that Icardi’s exclusion has muchto do with Messi. Icardi is not part of the
“magic circle” that revolves around Messi,
suggested Crespo. It is quite possible that
Messi takes a dim view of Icardi’s
behaviour with Lopez, who was his
team-mate for a year at Barca.
Meanwhile, the cynics can only
conclude that Nara seems to have picked
the more successful player. A kinder
observer would point out that Icardi
seems genuinely, hopelessly in love with
his wife. The two got married in 2014
and since then they have had two more
children together, making the Icardi
household a lively place after she won
custody of her three children by Lopez.
Nara has often
said that Icardi is
“a 40-year-old in
a young man’s
body”. By this she
means that he has
fully and gladly
embraced his role
as father to all five
children. Their
marriage seems
to be happy
and solid – and
seemingly all the
more so since
she became herhusband’s agent in 2014.
Icardi and Nara have become Italy’s
answer to Victoria Adams and David
Beckham, with Nara using her famous
husband’s celebrity not only to promote
herself as a TV football pundit but also to
start business initiatives such as the Wan
Collection clothing line.
When her “promotional” activities limit
themselves to Twitter comments and
Instagram pics which catalogue the
happy life and times of the Icardis, fans
seem not to mind. When, however, as has
happened this year, her TV appearances
and tweets concern the negotiations
about her husband’s new contract orAUG 20, 2014
Scores on his
European debut as
Inter beat Stjarnan
3-0 in Iceland in
the Europa League.
AUG 23, 2015
Captains Inter
for the first time,
in a 1-0 victory
over Atalanta.NOV 22, 2015
Makes his 100th
Serie A appearance
and scores in a 4-0
victory over
Frosinone.APR 9, 2016
Scores his 50th Serie
A goal, on his 100th
appearance for Inter,
in a 1-0 win away
to Frosinone.Mauro Icardi
Frosty reception...Icardi is blanked during the pre-match handshakes by former team-mate Maxi Lopez on his return to Sampdoria with Inter in April 2014Previously...
Lopez and Nara