Mauro Icardi facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Mauro Icardi

Icardi with Inter Milan in 2018
Personal information
Date of birth	(1993-02-19) 19 February 1993 (age 32)
Place of birth	Rosario, Argentina
Height	1.81 m
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Galatasaray
Number	9
Youth career
1998–2002	CF Sarratea
2002–2008	Vecindario
2008–2011	Barcelona
2011–2012	Sampdoria
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2011–2013	Sampdoria	33	(11)
2013–2020	Inter Milan	188	(111)
2019–2020	→ Paris Saint-Germain (loan)	20	(12)
2020–2023	Paris Saint-Germain	44	(11)
2022–2023	→ Galatasaray (loan)	24	(22)
2023–	Galatasaray	41	(29)
National team‡
2012–2013	Argentina U20	5	(0)
2013–2018	Argentina	8	(1)
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 28 October 2024 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 17 March 2024 (UTC)

Mauro Emanuel Icardi Rivero (born 19 February 1993) is an Argentine professional footballer. He plays as a striker for the Turkish club Galatasaray.

Mauro Icardi started his football journey in youth teams like Vecindario. He also spent time at La Masia, which is the youth academy of Barcelona. Later, he moved to Serie A club Sampdoria to begin his professional career in 2012. After a great season, he joined Inter Milan in July 2013. There, he became one of the best strikers in Europe.

Icardi was the top scorer in the Italian league (called Capocannoniere) in both the 2014–15 and 2017–18 seasons. He was named captain of Inter in 2015 when he was just 22 years old. In 2019, Icardi joined Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) on a loan deal. He helped them win several trophies. He then joined PSG permanently. After a successful loan spell at Galatasaray, where he helped them win the Süper Lig title, Icardi joined them permanently in 2023.

Icardi first played for the senior Argentina team in October 2013. He played a few games until 2018, earning eight caps and scoring one goal.

Mauro Icardi's Football Journey

Starting Out: Early Career

Mauro Icardi was born in Rosario, Argentina. When he was nine, his family moved to the Canary Islands in Spain. He began his football career with Vecindario in Gran Canaria. He scored more than 50 goals for their youth teams.

In 2007, big clubs like Barcelona and Real Madrid wanted to sign him. Barcelona won the race and signed Icardi until 2013.

Time at FC Barcelona

Icardi joined Barcelona's youth academy in the 2008–09 season. He played for their U-17 team. The next season, he moved up to the U-19 team. In January 2011, he went on loan to Sampdoria. Icardi later said that leaving Barcelona was a good choice for his career.

Playing for Sampdoria

Icardi playing for Sampdoria in 2011

On 11 January 2011, Sampdoria confirmed that Icardi had joined them on loan. He played very well for their youth team, scoring 13 goals in 19 games. Because of this success, Sampdoria decided to buy him permanently in July 2011 for €400,000. He signed a three-year deal. In the 2011–12 season, he scored 19 goals in the reserve league.

On 12 May 2012, he made his first appearance for Sampdoria's senior team. He came on as a substitute against Juve Stabia. Ten minutes later, Icardi scored his first professional goal, helping Sampdoria win 2–1.

On 26 September 2012, he played his first Serie A game for Sampdoria against Roma. On 12 November, he scored his first Serie A goal in a local derby against Genoa. Sampdoria won that match 3–1. On 6 January 2013, he scored two goals against Juventus in a surprising 2–1 win at their home stadium.

On 27 January 2013, Icardi scored four goals in a huge 6–0 win against Pescara. This win helped Sampdoria move away from the relegation zone. On 18 May, in the last game of the 2012–13 season, Icardi scored again against Juventus. Sampdoria beat the champions 3–2.

Time at Inter Milan

Icardi's Inter Milan shirt

In April, it was announced that Icardi would join Inter Milan for the 2013–14 season. The transfer fee was €6.5 million for half of his player rights. Icardi was officially introduced as an Inter player on 16 July. He was given the number 9 shirt. He said that moving to Inter was a "dream come true."

He played his first unofficial game for Inter a day later. He scored his first goal for Inter in a friendly match against Bundesliga club Hamburger SV.

First Season and Top Scorer Award

On 25 August 2013, Icardi made his official debut for Inter. He came on as a substitute in a 2–0 win against Genoa. He scored his first league goal for Inter on 14 September against Juventus.

Icardi missed many games early in the season due to injury. He returned to play in February 2014. On 14 February, he scored the winning goal against Fiorentina. On 5 April, Icardi scored two goals in a 2–2 draw against Bologna. This was his first time scoring two goals in a game for Inter. He then scored another two goals in a 4–0 win against his old team, Sampdoria.

On 10 May 2014, in Javier Zanetti's last home game, Inter beat Lazio 4–1. Icardi scored the second goal. He finished his first season with Inter having played 23 games and scored 9 goals.

On 10 June 2014, Inter bought the remaining rights to Icardi for another €6.5 million. This made Inter his full club.

Icardi playing for Inter Milan in 2014

On 20 August 2014, Icardi scored his first European goal in his debut in the Europa League. Inter won 3–0 against Iceland's Stjarnan. In the second game, he scored two more goals in a 6–0 win.

On 14 September, he scored his second Serie A hat-trick (three goals) in a big 7–0 win over Sassuolo. On 26 October, Icardi scored the winning goal from a penalty kick against Cesena. Three days later, he scored another penalty in the 90th minute to win 1–0 against Sampdoria.

On 9 November, Icardi scored twice in a 2–2 draw against Hellas Verona. This draw led to the coach, Walter Mazzarri, being replaced by Roberto Mancini. On 6 January, Icardi scored Inter's only goal in a 1–1 draw against Juventus.

On 11 April, he scored the first goal in a 3–0 win against Verona. This was Inter's first win after six games. He scored two goals on the final day in a 4–3 win over Empoli. He finished the season as the joint top scorer in Serie A with 22 goals, sharing the award with Luca Toni. Even though Inter did not qualify for European competitions, Icardi's great performance attracted attention. He signed a new four-year contract.

Second Top Scorer Award and Leaving Inter

Icardi missed part of the pre-season due to an injury. But he was ready for the start of the season. He scored two goals in the first game against Fiorentina, which Inter won 3–0. A week later, he scored two more goals against Roma, helping Inter win 3–1. On 10 September, Icardi scored a penalty against SPAL. This was his 76th Serie A goal for Inter, putting him in Inter's top 10 Serie A goal scorers.

On 15 October, Icardi scored all three goals as Inter beat their rivals Milan 3–2. This put Inter in second place. He was the first player to score a hat-trick in the Milan derby since 2012. On 18 March 2018, Icardi scored four goals against his former club, Sampdoria, in a 5–0 win. He scored three of those goals in just 14 minutes. In that game, he reached 100 goals in Serie A. He was the 6th youngest player ever to do this, at 25 years old. His fourth goal was also his 100th goal for Inter.

On 22 April, Icardi scored in a 2–1 win against Chievo. This was his 26th league goal of the season. The next week, Icardi scored in Inter's 2–3 loss to Juventus. In the final game against Lazio, Icardi scored a penalty in a 3–2 win. This win helped Inter finish fourth, meaning they returned to the UEFA Champions League for the first time since 2012. With 29 goals, Icardi won the Capocannoniere award again, sharing it with Ciro Immobile.

Icardi started the new season slowly, not scoring in the first six league games. He also missed a game due to injury. He played his first UEFA Champions League match on 18 September against Tottenham Hotspur. He scored a late goal to make it 2–1 for Inter. His goal was named Champions League Goal of the Week. In the second game against PSV Eindhoven, Icardi scored again, helping Inter win 2–1.

By scoring two goals in Inter's 2–1 win at SPAL, Icardi reached 103 Serie A goals. This matched Christian Vieri's record for Inter. In the next game, Icardi scored the winning goal against Milan. This was Inter's fifth league win in a row.

On 13 February 2019, Inter announced that Samir Handanović would replace Icardi as club captain. This happened after comments made by Icardi's wife and agent, Wanda Nara. Icardi then refused to play in a UEFA Europa League match.

He returned to action on 3 April against Genoa. He scored a penalty and helped set up another goal. With this goal, Icardi matched Christian Vieri as Inter's eighth all-time top goalscorer with 123 goals.

In July 2019, Inter announced that Icardi would not join the team's pre-season tour. On 8 August 2019, the club signed Romelu Lukaku, who was given Icardi's number 9 shirt. To avoid problems, Inter gave Icardi the number 7 shirt on 20 August.

Playing for Paris Saint-Germain

First Loan and Trophies

Icardi playing for Paris Saint-Germain in 2020

On 2 September 2019, Icardi joined French club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) on a one-year loan. PSG had an option to buy him for €70 million. He made his debut for PSG on 14 September. On 1 October, he scored his first goal for the club in a 1–0 win against Galatasaray in the UEFA Champions League. On 5 October, he scored his first goal in Ligue 1. Icardi scored two goals against rivals Marseille on 27 October in a 4–0 win. He scored his first hat-trick for the club on 8 January 2020.

On 1 May, Icardi won his first club trophy. PSG were named Ligue 1 champions after the season was stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic. PSG was in first place with a twelve-point lead. After the season restarted in the summer, Icardi won the Coupe de France and Coupe de la Ligue. He also reached the UEFA Champions League final. On 31 May, PSG and Inter Milan agreed for Icardi to join PSG permanently for €60 million. Icardi signed a four-year contract with PSG.

Injuries and Challenges

Icardi missed the first two games of the season because he tested positive for COVID-19. He returned on 16 September 2020. He scored his first two goals of the season on 27 September. In October 2020, PSG manager Thomas Tuchel announced that Icardi had a knee injury.

Icardi returned to play on 28 November. Before the next game, he had another injury setback. He had to wait until 9 January 2021 to return. He scored a goal and assisted another. In the next match, against rivals Marseille, Icardi scored a goal and helped PSG win 2–1. He was named the best player of the match. On 19 May, Icardi scored the first goal for PSG in their 2–0 win over Monaco in the 2021 Coupe de France Final.

On 7 August 2021, Icardi scored his first goal of the 2021–22 season. On 19 September, he scored the winning goal in stoppage time against Lyon. By the end of the season, Icardi had only scored five goals. This was his lowest total since his first season at Sampdoria.

Moving to Galatasaray

Winning the League Title

Icardi started the season in Paris without playing a game for PSG. He was not included in the Champions League squad.

On 8 September 2022, Icardi signed a one-year loan contract with Turkish club Galatasaray. He was welcomed by thousands of fans at the airport.

Icardi made his official debut for Galatasaray on 16 September 2022. He came off the bench in a 2–1 win. On 23 October, he scored his first league goal against Alanyaspor. He also made a great assist. He had another strong performance in a 7–0 win, scoring one goal and assisting two. After a small injury, he made a great comeback. He scored and assisted in the derby against Fenerbahçe. Fans quickly loved him. A song called "Aşkın Olayım" was played for him at the stadium.

On 14 April 2023, Icardi scored three goals and assisted another in a 6–0 win. On 30 May, Icardi scored two goals in a 4–1 win against Ankaragücü. This win helped Galatasaray secure the 2022–23 Süper Lig title. Icardi then scored in Galatasaray's game against Fenerbahçe on 4 June. He ended the league season with 22 goals and 7 assists.

Top Scorer and Back-to-Back Titles

On 28 July 2023, Galatasaray announced that Icardi had arrived to complete his permanent transfer. On 30 July, he signed a three-year contract. He would receive €6 million per year, and PSG received a €10 million transfer fee.

On 23 August 2023, Icardi scored his 200th club career goal. This happened in his 375th match, in a 3–2 win against Molde. On 3 October, he scored the winning goal against Manchester United at Old Trafford. This was Galatasaray's first ever away win against an English team.

On 21 October, Icardi scored his tenth goal in derbies for Galatasaray. This made him the foreign player with the most derby goals for the club. On 24 October, he scored a Panenka penalty against Bayern Munich.

On 26 May 2024, Icardi scored two goals in a 3–1 win over Konyaspor. This result secured the Süper Lig title for Galatasaray. They set a league record with 102 points. He also finished the season as the Süper Lig's top scorer with 25 goals.

Injury in 2024–25 Season

Icardi started the 2024–25 season well. He scored Galatasaray's first goal of the season in a comeback win. His penalty in the 80th minute helped Galatasaray win 2–1.

On November 7, 2024, he suffered a serious knee injury during a Europa League game. The club announced that he tore his ACL and damaged his meniscus. He will need surgery on his right knee.

Playing for Argentina

Youth Teams

In April 2012, Icardi was invited to play for the Italy under-19 squad. But he wanted to play for Argentina. His wish came true on 26 July when he was called up by the Argentina under-20 coach. He made his debut on 14 August.

Icardi scored his first goal for Argentina U20 on 19 August in a 2–0 win over Japan. He scored two more goals in a 2–1 win against Turkey. Argentina won the tournament, and Icardi was the top scorer with three goals.

Senior Team

In February 2013, Icardi said he wanted to play for the Argentina senior team. He said, "I'm Argentine, I feel Argentine, and I've always dreamed of wearing the shirt of my nation."

On 15 October 2013, he played his first game for the main squad. He came on as a substitute in a 2–3 loss to Uruguay.

In April 2016, Icardi was not chosen for the Copa América Centenario. He was later named to Argentina's under-23 squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics. However, his club, Inter, did not let him go.

On 19 May 2017, Icardi received his first call-up in over three years from the new coach Jorge Sampaoli. This was for friendly games against Brazil and Singapore.

In May 2018, Icardi was in Argentina's first squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. But he was not chosen for the final team.

Icardi scored his first goal for the senior national team on 20 November 2018. It was in a 2–0 friendly win over Mexico. His goal, scored in just 71 seconds, was one of the fastest in Argentina's history. He also won his first trophy with the senior team, the Copa Adidas 2018.

In May 2019, Icardi was in Argentina's first squad for the 2019 Copa América. But he was not chosen for the final team.

Icardi was not chosen for Argentina's squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

How Mauro Icardi Plays

Mauro Icardi is a fast, smart, and strong striker. He has good technique. He is known for moving well to find space and for being good at scoring goals. He mostly plays in the penalty box. He is a very accurate scorer with his head and both feet. He can score with just a few touches. He can also hold the ball to create chances for his teammates.

In the past, some people said he didn't help enough with defending or creating plays. But his effort has improved. He now moves to wider areas to create space or assist others. In 2013, Don Balón magazine listed him as one of the top 100 young players born after 1992.

Inter coach Stefano Pioli said Icardi "is an animal in the box" and "always finding the right position." 1982 FIFA World Cup winner Paolo Rossi called Icardi a "deadly striker." He added that Icardi "can create the right opportunity and take advantage of it." Inter manager Luciano Spalletti called him "a complete striker." Icardi said his role model is Gabriel Batistuta. During his time at Barcelona, he felt he was similar to Samuel Eto'o.

Mauro Icardi's Personal Life

Icardi is married to Argentine media personality Wanda Nara. They got married on 27 May 2014 in Buenos Aires. They have two daughters, Francesca (born 2015) and Isabella (born 2016).

Icardi has some Italian family roots from his father's side. He has an Italian passport. He was on the cover of the Italian version of the video game FIFA 16, alongside Lionel Messi. On 6 December 2015, Icardi's watch was stolen after an Inter game.

In October 2016, Icardi released his autobiography called Sempre Avanti (Always Forward). The book caused some discussion because of a story Icardi told that upset some Inter fans. He was fined by the club and had to remove parts of the book.

Career Statistics

Club

International

Argentina score listed first, score column indicates score after each Icardi goal.

List of international goals scored by Mauro Icardi

No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	20 November 2018	Estadio Malvinas Argentinas, Mendoza, Argentina	8	Mexico	1–0	2–0	Friendly

Awards and Achievements

Paris Saint-Germain

• Ligue 1: 2019–20, 2021–22
• Coupe de France: 2019–20, 2020–21
• Coupe de la Ligue: 2019–20
• Trophée des Champions: 2020, 2022

Galatasaray

• Süper Lig: 2022–23, 2023–24
• Turkish Super Cup: 2023

Individual

• Capocannoniere: 2014–15, 2017–18
• Serie A Team of the Year: 2014–15, 2017–18
• Serie A Footballer of the Year: 2018
• Süper Lig Team of the Season: 2022–23
• Süper Lig Top Goalscorer: 2023–24
• Turkish Footballer of the Year: 2023

See also

In Spanish: Mauro Icardi para niños