Inter vice-president Javier Zanetti has offered his thoughts on speculation linking Real Madrid with a big-money transfer swoop for captain Mauro Icardi.
As noted by Calciomercato, reports as recently as Monday suggested that the Spanish giants could be lining up a €110m move for the Argentine international to bolster their blunt attack.
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Los Blancos have scored just 16 goals in 11 La Liga games so far this season, and so it has emerged as a glaringly obvious flaw in the current squad after Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure this past summer.
Icardi has had no problem finding the back of the net throughout his stint with Inter, scoring 115 goals in 193 appearances for the Nerazzurri, and so it’s unsurprising that he would be linked with a move to the Spanish capital to solve their problem.
However, Zanetti has ultimately dismissed any possibility of seeing the club captain leave the San Siro, insisting that the 25-year-old is happy and the Italian giants are under no pressure to sell to adhere to FFP regulations.
“Icardi is our captain and our reference, but he is also very happy at Inter,” he is quoted as saying by AS. “We are not aware of any interest from Madrid.
“We are aware that Inter is a healthy club so that we do not have to sell and continue to respect [Financial] Fair Play.”
Inter will hope to challenge Juventus for the Serie A title this season having also re-claimed a seat at Europe’s top table. Provided that they can continue to strengthen and move in the right direction, it could be enough to convince Icardi to stay for the long term.
In contrast, should they fail to match his ambitions and objectives, then perhaps the threat of an exit will become more prominent.
