Inter will always be Icardi's priority - Nara

Inter will forever be Mauro Icardi's first choice in Italy despite the club having tried to force him out, according to his wife and agent Wanda Nara.

Argentina striker Icardi brought an end to a turbulent six months when he secured a season-long loan switch to Paris Saint-Germain on deadline day. The Ligue 1 champions can make the move permanent for a reported €70million fee but Nara, whose husband signed a one-year contract extension before leaving San Siro, insists his Inter departure is "not a divorce".

That is despite the Serie A side's rumoured willingness to complete a deal that would have sent Icardi to Juventus in a part-exchange for Gonzalo Higuain, who spent part of last season on loan at AC Milan. The 26-year-old's future became even more uncertain the following month when he was stripped of the captaincy amid a standstill in contract talks.

Inter needed to sell Icardi. As captain, Mauro would never have left the club. It was a strategy to sell him," Nara told Corriere della Sera. "In January, he refused to transfer to another team. I won't tell the team's name. The other player, however, came to Milan, but not to Inter..." [Icardi] replied: 'I am the captain and I will not leave this team'. That's when the relationship broke. They had another idea."

 

September 5, 2019

Despite the rift, Nara claims Icardi still views the Nerazzurri as his preferred Serie A home.

"He likes playing in Italy, he knows the league well," she said. "I think he will come back. I don't know where and how. Inter will always be the priority. [There have been] many misunderstandings, but the desire to play for Inter and the love of the fans remains. There are crises in a long relationship. In the end we leave each other with a repaired relationship, without any betrayal."

The ex-Sampdoria star spent almost two months out of Inter's first team last season before Luciano Spalletti ended the exile in April. However, he was compelled to accept PSG's offer of a fresh escape route after being told he did not figure in new boss Antonio Conte's plans.

"You can't say no to PSG," Nara said. "They have everything needed to win, it's a club full of stars and Mauro is honoured to be part of it. At the end of the season we will choose whatever is best. I work for him; the choices are his."