Icardi never thought about leaving Inter

Mauro Icardi never thought about leaving Inter despite being heavily linked with an exit during the previous transfer window.

The Nerazzurri captain was reportedly close to a move to Atletico Madrid, with his wife and agent Wanda Nara claiming in July Inter met with the Spanish side over a potential transfer.

However, Icardi, who is believed to be close to signing a new contract at Inter, insists departing San Siro was never an option for him.

The striker also praised the club’s activity in the transfer market, with Joao Mario, Garbiel Barbosa, Antonio Candreva and Ever Banega among a number of positive additions.

“The club invested heavily in the summer, bringing in quality players and this is an advantage for me,” Icardi told Mediaset.

“I want to win with this shirt. I want to stay here. I am comfortable in the city and I never thought about leaving this team.”

Icardi scored as Inter came from behind to defeat Juventus 2-1 in Serie A on Sunday, with Nara labelling him the “best number nine in the world” on Twitter.

The 23-year-old, however, believes there is still plenty of room for him to improve.

“She wrote that because she’s my wife, but I’m lacking a lot to be considered the best striker in the world. There are many better strikers who do amazing things,” said Icardi.

“I’m the Inter striker and in football if the striker’s aren’t scoring, then they’re not helping.

“It’s my duty and I have to keep doing it, and of course to do it against Juve is always nice. Doing it in the Inter shirt is different than doing it for Samp [Sampdoria].

“Scoring in the Derby d’Italia is always important and a source of great satisfaction.”

Icardi has only been capped once by Argentina and was overlooked by national team coach Edgardo Bauza for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers against Peru and Paraguay in October.

The striker acknowledged there is a lot of competition for a spot in the side but would relish the chance to play alongside Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi.

“Argentina has the strongest attack. If the coach selects me I would be happy and would learn many things from the players that are there,” added Icardi. “Of course, playing with Messi, who is the best player in the world, would be great.”