Mauro Icardi breaks the silence after being removed from his duties as captain of Inter Milan

Mauro Icardi posted an encrypted message on Instagram after being removed from his position as captain of Inter Milan.

The Italian giants confirmed this week that Icardi had been stripped of his armband during a contractual dispute.

Icardi, 25, has been linked to moves to Real Madrid and Chelsea, but has not made progress in recent discussions to extend his contract to San Siro beyond 2021.

He was then excluded from the group for the Europa League clash with Rapid Vienna, winning 1-0 by Inter.

Shortly after arriving full-time, Argentina spoke to Instagram and broke its silence about the incident by citing a quote from Mark Twain.

"It's better to keep your mouth shut and look silly than to open it and clear up any doubt," he wrote next to a flashing emoji.

Icardi has scored 15 goals for Inter this season with the decision to remove the armband, raising serious doubts about his future.

Real have long been badociated with a move for the attacker, who is supposed to challenge the amount of a release clause in any potential new deal.

Inter was imposed 1-0 in the first leg of the Europa League against Rapid Vienna.

Lautaro Martinez scored the only goal of the match for visitors to Austria.