For a man used to the limelight, Mauro Icardi may be struggling to adapt to life as an afterthought.
Once one of the most coveted centre-forwards in world football, the talismanic captain of Inter Milan, Icardi now feels like a dying sun in Paris Saint-Germains’s sparkling galaxy of stars.
As Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Angel di Maria and latterly Neymar took to the field for Tuesday’s Champions League clash-of-the-titans against Real Madrid, Icardi had to contend himself with celebrating from the sidelines as the irrepressible Mbappe showed the visiting fans what they’ve got to look forward to with a magical 94th minute winner at the Parc des Princes.
In fact, Icardi’s lack of opportunities in this season’s Champions League speaks volumes about where he stands in Mauricio Pochettino’s thinking.
A regular starter against mediocre Ligue 1 opposition, the Argentina international has played just 47 of a potential 630 minutes in a competition that has become something of an obsession in the French capital.
The Champions League is PSG’s Holy Grail. There’s nothing Nasser Al-Khelaifi would love more than to get his mits on ‘Ol Big Ears itself and remind any lingering romantics that, yes, money really can buy you everything.
What next for Mauro Icardi at PSG?
If PSG are European champions in May, the champagne will taste somewhat bittersweet as far as Icardi is concerned. One of the game’s top marskmen reduced to an expensive afterthought. He’s even had to endure the ignominy of being turned down by Arsenal as his stock plummets faster than a bad morning in New York’s Financial District.
According to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, Arsenal rejected the opportunity to swap Icardi for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang during the January transfer window.
Yes, The Gunners are crying out for a goalscorer but a disciplinarian like Mikel Arteta was never going to be enamoured by the prospect of a player who’s made as many headlines for his off-the-field activities as his footballing ability.
One suspects Arteta has little interest in ‘Keeping up with the Icardashians’.
There are still two-and-a-half years remaining on Icardi’s PSG contract. Given his price-tag, his wages and the fact that elite-level managers demand more from their strikers than merely putting the ball in the back of the net these days, it’s hard to imagine that he’ll be overloaded with offers this summer.
Icardi is starting to feel more and more like a man out of time. A tape deck in Pochettino’s Tesla. A watch on a Wizard’s wrist.
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