Inter Milan boss lashes out at Mauro Icardi following loss to Lazio

Posted Monday, April 01, 2019 by Foxsports.com

Inter Milan lost 1-0 to SS Lazio in their highly important Serie-A fixture yesterday, as the lack of a proficient goal-scorer reflected well in the eventual scoreline for the Nerazzurri.

Luciano Spalletti the Inter Milan boss, chose to continue dropping champion marksman Mauro Icardi as the rift between the player and the manager continues. Meanwhile, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic scored an early goal for Lazio who then hung on to their narrow lead for the remaining 78 minutes in the match.

After the game, Spalletti was widely questioned on his choice to not field the Argentine striker, to which he replied that he will not play Icardi until the latter chooses to solve his problems with others in the dressing room.

"It's obvious for everyone to see what happened. It's obvious," he told Sky Sports Italia, after the game.

"The way he has behaved, he needs to stay away and others have to play. I think he could have played 20-30 minutes, even half a game but that's not the point. The ones in the locker room need to play."

He further added, "You need to have credibility in the group. If he continues to behave the way he has recently, then he can start to come back in."

Spalletti went on to say the whole situation has been "humiliating" for the club. "This mediation is humiliating for Inter fans and for those who love Inter. The need to mediate with someone just to get him to pull on the shirt that they love. It's humiliating," he said.

"Negotiating with someone just to get him to pull on the Inter shirt. What, do I need to email 20 lawyers and ask them if I can call someone up?"

Icardi has not played for his club since February, when his wife and agent Wanda Nara publicly criticised Spalletti and the rest of Inter's management for their policies - which obviously did not sit well with the club's representatives. She had also lashed out at them for not providing her husband with payments justifiable to "the load he takes" while playing - also mocking a few of his teammates in the process.

It was recently reported that all has been forgiven and forgotten, with the Nerazzurri needing his services to stay within contention for a Champions League spot next season. He even trained with his teammates for the first time in two months, but apparently a fresh incident that happened a few hours prior to the Lazio game, led Spalletti to drop him again.

Inter Milan are currently on 3rd spot in the Serie A charts, but only two points ahead of fourth-placed local rivals AC Milan.