Yesterday, Inter officially announced that Samir Handanovic was the new captain of the club, causing a massive media storm, leaving only one question. What reason did they have for taking away from Mauro Icardi? Gazzetta dello Sport argue that this decision is not as surprising as it was initially reacted to.
For months, tensions between management and the Icardi’s have been on the rise over the terms of Maurito’s contract renewal. Wanda Icardi, his wife and agent, then took the matter on national television. This was final straw for Spalletti and Inter who described her rants as an embarrassment to the club. In fact, Spalletti hinted at the need to take action in Parma: “The directors have agreed to discuss Icardi’s contract, now they have to define it”. Interestingly his use of the word “define” had much larger connotations than anyone originally interpreted .
Now there is talk of a fine heading Icardi’s way, for refusing to travel to Vienna and an assessment of the situation in coming days will have to be made, before can we say whether or not Mauro will join the squad to play Sampdoria this weekend.
Some may still be wondering why Icardi was punished for the actions of his agent. Well, Wanda did not make normal comments of an agent, she attacked the club and the dressing room, claiming Perisic has personal problems, revealing details of her negotiations with the club and demanding that the club buy better players to assist Mauro. Naturally, the club asked their captain to disassociated himself with these comments but he refused, leaving Inter with one choice left and now we living the effects of these cumulative decisions.
By doing this, Spalletti has avoided chaos in the dressing room, while Marotta has delayed the need to discuss his contract. Now, we can only wait and see what the consequences of such authoritative actions will be.