Wanda Nara reunites with Juventus coach Spalletti 7 years after Icardi clash
Mauro Icardi’s former wife and agent, Wanda Nara, surprisingly met Juventus coach Luciano Spalletti, seven years after the striker’s clash with the Italian tactician: ‘Nice to see you again.’
Juventus coach Spalletti met Icardi’s ex-wife and agent Wanda Nara in Turin today.
Wanda Nara posted two pictures in her Instagram stories, showing her meeting with the Bianconeri boss.
Wanda Nara reunites with Spalletti
Icardi’s former representative added a brief caption in her first picture: “Nice to see you again, mister.”
Wanda Nara and Spalletti last crossed paths in 2019 when Icardi was playing under the Italian tactician at Inter.
Back then, Wanda was Icardi’s representative and upset Inter and Spalletti with some provocative remarks on Italian TV.
What happened between Icardi, Wanda Nara and Spalletti at Inter?
In his biography published last year, Spalletti explained what exactly happened with Icardi and Wanda.
“Mario was going through a difficult period in footballing terms,” wrote Spalletti via Goal.com.
“At that moment, things weren’t going the way he had hoped. He wasn’t able to score the way he usually did. She [Wanda] said that if we wanted Icardi to score more goals, we needed to buy different players who could help him do so. In short, better players.
“That was the idea. Unbearable. A bombshell. It was one of those statements that couldn’t be brushed off with a WhatsApp message or an Instagram story. You had to talk face to face, the old-fashioned way.
“There was only one way to avoid a war in the dressing room: Mauro Icardi’s apology. It never came,” Spalletti continued.
“I asked the captain to explain Wanda Naras’s words to the dressing room, to justify them in some way. Mauro replied that it wasn’t his wife, Wanda, who had spoken, but his agent, Nara and that she had done so strictly in that capacity. It was impossible to manage the situation. There was no way.
“I had to tell him two things: remove the captain’s armband and give it to Handanovic. The club agreed, but he took it very badly. In fact, in order not to lose the team, I lost Icardi, the man and the player.”
When, in February 2019, Inter told Icardi he was no longer the team’s captain, the ex-striker refused to join the team for an away Europa League game against Rapid Wien.
The Argentine was frozen out of the team for over a month, and the following April, after a home defeat against Lazio, Spalletti told Sky: “Negotiating with a player to make him play and wear the Inter jersey is humiliating. Towards Inter fans and his teammates. Today, Icardi had to stay out because of how he behaved; it’s only fair that the others play.”
Icardi was then reintroduced to the squad for the last nine games of the campaign, in which he scored two goals, but no longer wore the captain’s armband.
Both Icardi and Spalletti left Inter at the end of the 2018-19 campaign.
Icardi joined PSG, where he would spend the following three seasons, scoring 38 goals in 92 matches.
He had been even more prolific at Inter with 124 goals in 219 matches.