# Mauro Icardi
**Mauro Emanuel Icardi Rivero** (born 1993 in Rosario, Argentina) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a center-forward. He is best known as a two-time [Serie A](https://www.edgepedia.org/serie-a) top scorer with [Inter Milan](https://www.edgepedia.org/inter-milan), a [Ligue 1](https://www.edgepedia.org/ligue-1) and Coupe de France winner with Paris Saint-Germain, and Galatasaray's all-time leading foreign goalscorer. He has been without a club since 1 July 2026, after leaving Galatasaray that July.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1993, Rosario, Argentina; height 1.81 m; right-footed; dual Argentine and Italian citizenship[1](https://www.transfermarkt.us/mauro-icardi/profil/spieler/68863) |
| Youth career | C.F. Sarratea (1998–2002), U.D. Vecindario (2002–2008), FC Barcelona (2008–2010)[1](https://www.transfermarkt.us/mauro-icardi/profil/spieler/68863) |
| Inter Milan | 219 matches, 124 goals, 29 assists; Serie A top scorer in 2014-15 (22 goals) and 2017-18 (29 goals); Italian footballer of the year 2018[2](https://www.galatasaray.org/p/mauro-icardi/3028) |
| Paris Saint-Germain | 92 matches, 38 goals, 10 assists; two Ligue 1 titles, two Coupe de France and two Trophée des Champions wins[2](https://www.galatasaray.org/p/mauro-icardi/3028) |
| Galatasaray | 77 goals in 134 matches across three and a half seasons; Süper Lig top scorer 2023-24; three consecutive league titles[3](https://www.galatasaray.org/haber/futbol/mauro-icardi-adini-efsaneler-arasina-yazdirdi/59529) • [4](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/no-sacar-algo-pasa-con-icardi-f202609-n/) |
| Argentina | 8 caps, 1 goal[1](https://www.transfermarkt.us/mauro-icardi/profil/spieler/68863) |
| Current status | Without a club since 1 July 2026; last club Galatasaray[1](https://www.transfermarkt.us/mauro-icardi/profil/spieler/68863) |
## Early life and youth career
Icardi was born in Rosario, the same Argentine city that produced [Lionel Messi](https://www.edgepedia.org/lionel-messi). When he was nine years old his family emigrated to Vecindario, in Santa Lucía de Tirajana on the island of [Gran Canaria](https://www.edgepedia.org/gran-canaria), Spain, where he began playing organized football[5](https://as.com/us/us/2018/01/31/futbol/1517365900_612318.html). With the now-defunct local club U.D. Vecindario he scored around 500 goals, a return that brought him to the attention of Barcelona, which signed him at age 15 in 2008[5](https://as.com/us/us/2018/01/31/futbol/1517365900_612318.html).
His time at Barcelona's academy, [La Masia](https://www.edgepedia.org/la-masia), lasted about two and a half years. According to reporting by the Spanish newspaper AS, the club's tactical fashion for the false nine marginalized a classic penalty-area striker, and in January 2011, at the player's request, he moved on loan to Sampdoria of Genoa[6](https://as.com/futbol/2018/10/23/champions/1540323368_980054.html). Sampdoria exercised its purchase option of 355,000 euros six months later, in June 2011, with Barcelona reserving 15 percent of the rights to any future transfer[5](https://as.com/us/us/2018/01/31/futbol/1517365900_612318.html).
## Sampdoria and Inter Milan
In the [Sampdoria](https://www.edgepedia.org/sampdoria) youth side Icardi scored 27 goals in 35 matches, then added 11 goals in 33 first-team appearances, enough for Inter Milan to pay 13 million euros for him in the summer of 2013[5](https://as.com/us/us/2018/01/31/futbol/1517365900_612318.html).
At Inter he became one of the most prolific center-forwards in Europe. Across six uninterrupted seasons, from 2013-14 to 2018-19, he played 219 matches, scored 124 goals and provided 29 assists[2](https://www.galatasaray.org/p/mauro-icardi/3028). He finished as Serie A top scorer (capocannoniere) twice: with 22 goals in 2014-15 and 29 in 2017-18, and in 2018 he was named Italian footballer of the year[2](https://www.galatasaray.org/p/mauro-icardi/3028). Inter's own archive records his totals as 222 appearances and 126 goals in all competitions, including 111 goals in 191 league matches[7](https://www.inter.it/it/archivio_giocatore/G0926/mauro-icardi). A 2018 analysis by the sports daily *La Gazzetta dello Sport* described him as the most lethal finisher in Europe that season[8](https://www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/Serie-A/Inter/19-03-2018/inter-icardi-piu-letale-d-europa-primo-tre-diverse-categorie-2501039998291.shtml).
## Paris Saint-Germain
Icardi ended his Italian career in 2019-20 by joining Paris Saint-Germain on loan; the following season PSG made the move permanent for a fee of 50 million euros[2](https://www.galatasaray.org/p/mauro-icardi/3028) • [4](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/no-sacar-algo-pasa-con-icardi-f202609-n/). In his first season the Paris club reached the Champions League final, after which his purchase option was activated and he signed through June 2024[9](https://www.psg.fr/equipes/equipe-premiere/effectif/mauro-icardi).
Across his PSG spell he made 92 appearances, scoring 38 goals with 10 assists, and collected two Ligue 1 championships, two [Coupe de France](https://www.edgepedia.org/coupe-de-france) titles and two Trophée des Champions wins[2](https://www.galatasaray.org/p/mauro-icardi/3028).
## Galatasaray
Icardi joined Galatasaray on loan from PSG in the 2022-23 season and scored 23 goals in his first campaign, 22 of them in the league, as the club won its 23rd Turkish championship[3](https://www.galatasaray.org/haber/futbol/mauro-icardi-adini-efsaneler-arasina-yazdirdi/59529). When the loan ended he returned to PSG, then continued his Galatasaray career[2](https://www.galatasaray.org/p/mauro-icardi/3028).
His second season as a permanent Galatasaray player was his most productive in Turkey: 25 goals in 34 [Süper Lig](https://www.edgepedia.org/super-lig) matches made him the league's top scorer for 2023-24, and 32 goals in 47 matches across all competitions helped deliver the club's 24th title[3](https://www.galatasaray.org/haber/futbol/mauro-icardi-adini-efsaneler-arasina-yazdirdi/59529). In his first season he had also become the first player in Süper Lig history to score in seven consecutive matches for Galatasaray, scoring against Beşiktaş, Fenerbahçe and [Trabzonspor](https://www.edgepedia.org/trabzonspor) among others[2](https://www.galatasaray.org/p/mauro-icardi/3028).
**Injury and records.** On 7 November 2024, in a [UEFA Europa League](https://www.edgepedia.org/uefa-europa-league) match against [Tottenham](https://www.edgepedia.org/tottenham), Icardi suffered an anterior cruciate ligament rupture that ended his season; he finished 2024-25 with 6 goals in 14 matches[3](https://www.galatasaray.org/haber/futbol/mauro-icardi-adini-efsaneler-arasina-yazdirdi/59529). He returned to play after 281 days, in September 2025[10](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/icardi-se-quiere-retirar-en-un-galatasaray-con-gundogan-como-capitan-n/). In February 2026 he scored a hat-trick in a 5-1 win over Eyüpspor, forming an effective partnership with [Victor Osimhen](https://www.edgepedia.org/victor-osimhen)[11](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/el-rey-icardi-y-osimhen-desafian-a-la-juventus-f202602-n/). That December, a league goal against Kasımpaşa had made him Galatasaray's leading foreign league scorer, taking the record from Gheorghe Hagi; in February 2026, his 73rd goal for the club, scored in a 3-1 Turkish Cup win over İstanbulspor, made him Galatasaray's all-time leading foreign goalscorer, again passing Hagi's 72[3](https://www.galatasaray.org/haber/futbol/mauro-icardi-adini-efsaneler-arasina-yazdirdi/59529).
His contract ran to June 2026, and he had expressed a wish to renew and to retire at the club, where he earned a reported 10 million euros per season[10](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/icardi-se-quiere-retirar-en-un-galatasaray-con-gundogan-como-capitan-n/) • [12](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/icardi-da-pistas-sobre-su-salida-f202512-n/). Instead, his final season was affected by reduced form and by competition from Osimhen; AS reported that after the serious ligament injury he had spent ten months out and was eventually relegated to the bench[13](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/icardi-gasta-toda-la-credibilidad-f202604-n/). In July 2026 Galatasaray and Icardi parted ways after three and a half years, leaving him with 77 goals in 134 matches for the club and, since 1 July 2026, without a club[4](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/no-sacar-algo-pasa-con-icardi-f202609-n/) • [1](https://www.transfermarkt.us/mauro-icardi/profil/spieler/68863).
## Argentina
Icardi's international career with Argentina was limited to 8 caps and 1 goal[1](https://www.transfermarkt.us/mauro-icardi/profil/spieler/68863). In April 2012 he had rejected an invitation from the Italian under-19 national team, for which his Italian citizenship would have qualified him[1](https://www.transfermarkt.us/mauro-icardi/profil/spieler/68863).
## Playing style
Icardi is a classic penalty-area striker, a poacher rather than a builder of play. A 2017 tactical comparison in *Goal* noted that he rarely dribbles or plays one-twos, though he manages possession well, and that his game asks little of him in that respect[14](https://www.goal.com/it/notizie/inter-milan-e-anche-icardi-higuain-i-bomber-argentini-a-confronto/1uioa7e03tr2x1j94obiqfloqp). When PSG signed him, Get French Football News described his one-touch finishing and instinct for pouncing on defensive mistakes as the complement to a creative attack, while noting that his limited involvement placed more burden on teammates[15](https://www.getfootballnewsfrance.com/assets/GFFN-Ligue-1-202021-Guide.pdf).
His scoring record reflects the profile. At Inter he scored 124 goals in 219 matches[2](https://www.galatasaray.org/p/mauro-icardi/3028); at Galatasaray he was the league's top scorer in 2023-24 and finished his Turkish career with 77 goals in 134 matches[3](https://www.galatasaray.org/haber/futbol/mauro-icardi-adini-efsaneler-arasina-yazdirdi/59529) • [4](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/no-sacar-algo-pasa-con-icardi-f202609-n/). AS noted that even in his final, physically diminished seasons he retained his sharpness in front of goal, finishing 2025-26 with 14 league goals[4](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/no-sacar-algo-pasa-con-icardi-f202609-n/).
## References
1. [Mauro Icardi – Player profile, Transfermarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.us/mauro-icardi/profil/spieler/68863)
2. [9 – Mauro Icardi – Forvet, Galatasaray SK official site](https://www.galatasaray.org/p/mauro-icardi/3028)
3. [Mauro Icardi, adını efsaneler arasına yazdırdı, Galatasaray SK official site](https://www.galatasaray.org/haber/futbol/mauro-icardi-adini-efsaneler-arasina-yazdirdi/59529)
4. [Algo pasa con Icardi, AS](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/no-sacar-algo-pasa-con-icardi-f202609-n/)
5. [Así es Icardi: 500 goles en el Vecindario y canterano culé, AS](https://as.com/us/us/2018/01/31/futbol/1517365900_612318.html)
6. [La moda del falso nueve 'echó' a Icardi de La Masia, AS](https://as.com/futbol/2018/10/23/champions/1540323368_980054.html)
7. [Mauro Icardi – Archivio giocatore, F.C. Internazionale](https://www.inter.it/it/archivio_giocatore/G0926/mauro-icardi)
8. [Inter, Icardi è il più letale d'Europa, La Gazzetta dello Sport](https://www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/Serie-A/Inter/19-03-2018/inter-icardi-piu-letale-d-europa-primo-tre-diverse-categorie-2501039998291.shtml)
9. [Mauro Icardi – Effectif, Paris Saint-Germain](https://www.psg.fr/equipes/equipe-premiere/effectif/mauro-icardi)
10. [Icardi se quiere retirar en un Galatasaray en el que Gündogan será capitán, AS](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/icardi-se-quiere-retirar-en-un-galatasaray-con-gundogan-como-capitan-n/)
11. [El rey Icardi y Osimhen desafían a la Juventus, AS](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/el-rey-icardi-y-osimhen-desafian-a-la-juventus-f202602-n/)
12. [Icardi da pistas sobre su salida, AS](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/icardi-da-pistas-sobre-su-salida-f202512-n/)
13. [Icardi gasta toda la credibilidad, AS](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/icardi-gasta-toda-la-credibilidad-f202604-n/)
14. [Inter-Milan è anche Icardi-Higuain: i bomber argentini a confronto, Goal.com Italia](https://www.goal.com/it/notizie/inter-milan-e-anche-icardi-higuain-i-bomber-argentini-a-confronto/1uioa7e03tr2x1j94obiqfloqp)
15. [Signing to watch: Mauro Icardi, Get French Football News Ligue 1 guide](https://www.getfootballnewsfrance.com/assets/GFFN-Ligue-1-202021-Guide.pdf)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football people and teams › People › Men's footballers of South America › Argentine men's footballers › Argentine forwards*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license