Wanda Nara clashes with Cassano over Icardi
Cassano said he believed it was time for Icardi to apologize to Inter, to which Nara responded: "Enough of this nonsense".
The soap opera surrounding Mauro Icardi’s contract renewal with Inter continues to be played out in Italy, this time with his wife and agent Wanda Nara getting into a heated debate with ex-Real Madrid, Roma, AC Milan and Inter forward Antonio Cassano on Italian television.
Nara has played a central role in the drama and often appears on Italian football gossip show Tiki-taka to discuss the situation surrounding her husband, who has yet to agree new terms with Inter on his contract that currently expires in June, 2021.
Contract talks between the two parties have reportedly created tensions between the club and Icardi. The striker was recently stripped of his captaincy and was left out of the squad for Inter’s Europa League game against Rapid Vienna two weeks ago, with the club citing an inflamed knee injury.
Icardi has yet to return to action, missing Inter’s last two Serie A games, apparently due to the knee injury. But doubts have been cast on the legitimacy of the injury, amid claims that Icardi has been side-lined because of a fall out stemming from the contract saga.
And citing his own experience of “creating problems”, Cassano said he believed it was time for Icardi to apologize to the club and clarify his situation.
“The duty of your husband is serving Inter, let’s be clear,” Cassano told Nara on Tiki-taka. “He must find a way to clear up the problems in the dressing room. I myself have created a lot of problems, it’s just a suggestion… He has to apologise and clarify his position until June.”
Clearly frustrated, Nara jumped to her husband’s defence and dismissed the rumours that the injury was falsified, saying: “Enough of this nonsense. He doesn’t have to do anything. He’s in the dressing room everyday with the physios. All this is drama, he didn’t do anything... Every time that Mauro has had to choose, he has chosen to stay at Inter. He is an Interista.”
Whatever the truth is surrounding the injury situation, the discussion ended with Cassano explaining that one thing is certain: Inter need Icardi in their battle to ensure they secure a Champions League spot.
"Inter have to make sure they are in the Champions League, they are waiting for Icardi and they need his goals. If not, Inter will have problems and those problems will also be his.”