Mauro Icardi explains reason behind permanent move to Paris Saint-Germain from Inter

Argentine striker Mauro Icardi has said that the urge to win titles was one of the prime reasons behind his decision to join Paris Saint-Germain on a permanent basis from Inter.

Icardi fell out-of-favour at the Nerazzurri after the appointment of manager Antonio Conte last summer and he was hence loaned out to Les Parisiens for the 2019/2020 campaign.

Icardi bagged 20 goals and four assists for Thomas Tuchel’s side until the coronavirus shutdown in March and the club have since taken the decision to sign him permanently for an initial fee of £45m.

Speaking to PSG TV, Icardi said that he wanted to take a big step in his career after previously spending seven seasons in Italian football with Sampdoria and Inter.

The 27-year-old added that he has the ambition of winning trophies with Les Parisiens and talked about the aim of getting to a higher level during the prime phase of his career.

“It was important for me to take a big step in my career. I am 27-years-old, I spent a lot of time in Italy. I wanted to come to a club like Paris Saint-Germain to win titles and to get to a higher level. It is for these reasons that I wanted to change clubs and evolve in my career,” He told.

Icardi had been a regular alongside Kylian Mbappe upfront during the first half of the current season, but he was in-and-out of the starting lineup after the turn of the year with Edinson Cavani preferred ahead of him on occasions.

The Uruguayan has now parted ways with the club after the expiry of his contract on June 30 and Icardi should have the assurance of a starting berth when Les Parisiens resume their season later this month. The club were crowned as the league champions earlier in April after the Ligue 1 campaign was curtailed.

However, they still have plenty to play for. The capital outfit are scheduled to face Saint-Etienne and Lyon in the Coupe de France and Coupe de la Ligue finals respectively towards the end of the month. Meanwhile, they will resume their Champions League campaign at the last-eight stage in August.

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and the prolonged length of the current season, UEFA have announced that the quarter-final and semi-final games will be contested as one-legged ties. All games from the last-eight stage are set to played in Lisbon.

Stats from Transfermarkt.com