Mauro Icardi said his “mission in life is to score goals” and confessed to hearing Juventus links, but has no intention of leaving Inter, even for Real Madrid.
The Argentina international sat down for a lengthy interview with the Corriere dello Sport newspaper.
“A striker has to score goals, a midfielder builds the play, a defender defends and the goalkeeper makes saves,” said Icardi.
Mauro Icardi said his “mission in life is to score goals” and confessed to hearing Juventus links, but has no intention of leaving Inter, even for Real Madrid.
The Argentina international sat down for a lengthy interview with the Corriere dello Sport newspaper.
“A striker has to score goals, a midfielder builds the play, a defender defends and the goalkeeper makes saves,” said Icardi.
“I think just scoring goals is no bad thing and you can go far, as goals are what count in this sport. There is too much talk of how much I do or don’t participate in the team play, which many say isn’t very much, but I don’t care what the critics say. I only know one way to help my teammates and that is to put the ball in the back of the net.
“I have always lived for the goal, even as a kid. I can do it and I feel that I must do it. Scoring goals is my mission in life. I have scored an extra 100 goals since I was at Sampdoria, but I remain exactly the same player.”
Icardi has been repeatedly linked with a move away from Inter, including to arch rivals Juventus.
“I heard something… But you see, in some things I am the last to know, because my only interest is doing my job well. You’d have to ask (wife and agent) Wanda and (Inter director) Piero Ausilio.
“Playing football is a privilege for me and the job I always dreamed of. Wanda knows what she’s doing. She knows how to be on TV, knows journalists and is now in the world of fashion too. She’s smart, she doesn’t need me checking on her. I trust her completely.
“She also knows me well and realises how much I am prepared to reveal.”
The Real Madrid rumours also continue to circulate around the Argentine hitman.
“I don’t think this is the right time, considering how things are going. Besides, I am happy where I am. The contract renewal will come too, at the right moment. We have plenty of time.
“Did I ever come close to leaving? You’d have to ask the club. I always made my objectives clear. The first, to get Inter back into the Champions League, has been achieved. The second, win something with Inter.
“This is a more complete Inter squad than in the past, certainly. We stumbled a bit at the start, in the first two or three games, but if we’d played like Inter, we’d have more points. When we thought that we’d found some consistency, we fell in Bergamo. There can be no complaints, Atalanta played better on the day.
“Now we have to do well against Roma tomorrow, because we know if we get it wrong, Juventus will break away and so can Napoli.”