Mauro Icardi has been stripped of the Inter Milan captaincy in favour of goalkeeper Samir Handanovic.
Icardi has held the armband for the Nerazzurri since 2015 and has 122 goals for the club to date, but will no longer serve as the team’s leader.
With increasing speculation linking him with a move away from the San Siro, as well as contract talks between the player and club being publicly difficult, Inter have decided to strip the Argentine of his role, instead passing the captain’s armband to Handanovic.
Inter announced the news with a low-key post on their official Twitter page that read: “The club reports that the new team captain is Samir Handanovic.”
Icardi has held the armband for the Nerazzurri since 2015 and has 122 goals for the club to date, but will no longer serve as the team’s leader.
With increasing speculation linking him with a move away from the San Siro, as well as contract talks between the player and club being publicly difficult, Inter have decided to strip the Argentine of his role, instead passing the captain’s armband to Handanovic.
Inter announced the news with a low-key post on their official Twitter page that read: “The club reports that the new team captain is Samir Handanovic.”
Icardi has just two goals in his last nine outings across all competitions and has also been left out of Inter’s Europa League squad to face Rapid Vienna this week, with manager Luciano Spaletti suggesting his striker’s displays have been affected by contract issues at the weekend.Il Club comunica che il nuovo capitano della squadra è Samir #Handanovic#FCIM— Inter (@Inter) February 13, 2019
— Inter (@Inter_en) February 13, 2019“Mauro is evidently seeing his performance affected by some situations that have been going on recently,” he said (via the Daily Mail).
“He needs to free himself from the talk
that is around him. The directors agreed to start talking about the
contract, so now they need to go there and conclude it.”
Meanwhile, Inter midfielder Marcelo Brozovic has ‘liked’ several
Instagram posts announcing the captaincy change, according to
screenshots published by Football-Italia, suggesting the news has divided the squad at the San Siro.Icardi has never demanded a contract renewal, according to agent
With so many rumours circulating regarding Icardi’s contract situation, his agent and wife, Wanda Icardi, has been quick to defend her client, saying that no renewal demand has been made and that Inter are ‘the priority’.
“Spalletti didn’t have it in for me,” Wanda said. “I didn’t mention the renewal. When the club called me, it was to get to know each other better and talk about other things.
“I’d like to see Mauro more protected by the club because sometimes nasty things have come out from inside.
“The priority is Inter: I’ve never demanded a renewal. We’re in no hurry, he still has two years left on his contract.”
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