Icardi relieved of captain's duties: summer break is imminent as Wanda & Inter leave for war

Just three days ago, Wanda, the wife and Mauro Icardi's agent, was told if the current stalemate regarding the renewal of her husband's contract to the Inter had some connection with its drought in seven Serie A matches.

"Mauro had fewer services during this period," she said. "If I had to choose between [a contract] the renewal and arrival of someone who provides him with five good balls, I would prefer the second option. "

On Wednesday afternoon, however, Inter responded with a third option that no one had even thought of: removing Captain Icardi's armband.

The importance of this move can not be overstated.

Inter had decided not to withdraw Icardi captain's armband in 2016, even after their own supporters had dubbed him "a nasty piece of shit" for criticizing the club's ultras in his autobiography, "Semper avanti& # 39 ;.

"There are no more excuses," we read in a statement of fans at the time. "We considered him young, a little silly (like a lot), but at the bottom of a good boy.

"It's an individual who can not wear the armband of Inter, it's not for us, but for Inter do not deserve that.

"You're done with us, you're done." Clear arm, CLOWN.

Inter, however, allowed him to continue. Even though discussions about a new contract were going on forever, there was no suggestion that Icardi would lose the captaincy.

Its contractual situation – its current contract expires in 2021 – has become an increasingly controversial subject.

Coach Luciano Spalletti called on club administrators to solve the problem last week, saying he was at least partly responsible for his problems in front of goals.

"It is obvious that Mauro's performance is affected by some recent situations," he said. "He must free himself from the discourse that surrounds him.

"The directors have agreed to start talking about the contract, so now they have to go in and finish it."

Spalletti's statement was not welcomed by his employers. Beppe Marotta said that the difficulties faced by Icardi had nothing to do with problems off the field.

"There is no reason to think he could be affected by this situation, to which his wife Wanda deals, among other things," he said.

Wanda, however, only upset the jury of Inter, who wanted the negotiations to proceed in a discreet and uncontroversial manner.

They wanted to create a warm environment free of any pressure; Wanda had the intention to do so. As far as the club were concerned, anyway.

"I would like Mauro to be more protected by the team," she said. Tika Taka on Sunday. "Because sometimes ugly things came out of the interior [the club]. "

Still, it's Wanda who said about Ivan Perisic's request for a transfer in January: "If he wanted to leave, he might have psychological problems."

These misguided statements, combined with the claim that Icardi was not well served by his teammates, have been like a lead ball to Inter, both at the board level and at the board level. administration only in the locker room of the Inter.

Indeed, it was revealing that the midfielder Marcelo Brozovic even "appreciated" the story confirming that goalkeeper Samir Handanovic had replaced Icardi as captain.

This was not even the first online scandal in Inter either. Last year, Icardi arrested Brozovic on a social networking site and the Croat reacted in this way, triggering all kinds of rumors about a gap between locker rooms.

Spalletti immediately rejected this conversation, but a few days later, details of a conversation between the coach and a group of Roma supporters were leaked to the press. The former Giallorossi coach reportedly told Inter: Madness. "

The hope was that the arrival of Marotta, the former CEO of Juventus, put an end to the phenomenon of "Pazza Inter" ("Mad Inter").

However, Marotta, a man renowned for choosing his words as carefully as his transfer targets, was apparently afflicted with the same madness.

He made public the club's decision to fine Radja Nainggolan for his late arrival at the training, as well as Perisic's desire to leave Inter during the transfer period, at great Spalletti dam.

In a very shocking way, Icardi was openly humiliated. The angry striker refused to move because of the clash between the Europa League and Rapid Vienna on Thursday.

Significantly, the move comes just 24 hours after Marotta made peace with Spalletti at a dinner with club directors Piero Ausilio and Giovanni. Gardini at Appiano Gentile, where it was decided that the club would adapt a united "anti-Wanda front", like the Gazzetta dello sport called him.

The result is one of the most surprising episodes of this TV soap opera that is the relationship between Mauro and Wanda Icardi.

It is impossible to predict what is happening now, Spalletti merely admitting that the former captain had been left "disappointed" by his demotion.

"It was difficult for us to make this decision and announce it to him," he said. "There is a situation that needs to be addressed and I said [last weekend]. What happened confirms it.

"We made a decision at a convenient time and that was well thought out, even if it was very painful."

Icardi is likely to do more harm than anyone else. Faced with the prospect of losing the captain's title three years ago, he apologized to supporters in an open letter.

"If I had any brains in my skull, I certainly would not have risked offending him." curva, "he explained. I did not want to offend or disrespect anyone.

"The captain's armband represents the fulfillment of my childhood dreams, the joy that I gave first to my family and then to myself."

Clearly, Inter's unexpected gesture will have struck him and his first retaliatory instinct might be to ask for the transfer his wife has been threatening for so long to be an engineer.

As Wanda has repeatedly pointed out, he will not miss any contenders, not with his redemption clause remaining at 110 million euros.

Icardi said just two months ago that Wanda "will take care of my interests until the end of my career".

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For the moment, however, it does not seem in anyone's interest to end his career at San Siro so acrimoniously.

We are now faced with the very real prospect of Inter's star striker sitting in the stands while Spalletti tries to protect football from the Champions League for next season.

Marotta, Spalletti, Inter and even the Icardis themselves could all end up regretting their respective roles in this seemingly inevitable break.