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

After a successful season on loan to Galatasaray where he led the side to a Süper Lig title, Icardi joined permanently in 2023 for a €10 million fee.

After a successful six-month loan for la Samp, scoring 13 goals in 19 games with the Primavera team, the Italian side utilised the option to buy Icardi for €400,000 in July 2011, signing a three-year deal.

[18] On 27 January 2013, he scored four goals in a six-goal thrashing of fellow strugglers Pescara, lifting the Genoese side clear of the Serie A relegation zone.

[19] On 18 May, during the final match of 2012–13 season, Icardi scored again against Juventus, helping the team to beat the eventual champions of Italy 3–2 at Stadio Luigi Ferraris.

[27] He scored his first goal for Inter in their 1–1 pre-season friendly draw with Bundesliga club Hamburger SV,[28] netting after less than two minutes on the field and being assisted by Fredy Guarín.

On 14 February 2014, during the away match against Fiorentina at Stadio Artemio Franchi, Icardi returned in the field after four months and scored the winner after only ten minutes.

[38] On 20 August 2014, in Inter's first match of the season against Iceland's Stjarnan for first leg of play-off round of the 2014–15 Europa League, Icardi opened a 3–0 away win.

[citation needed] Five days later, Icardi was decisive in Inter's 3–1 home win against Genoa, scoring the second goal and earlier making an overhead kick (saved by goalkeeper) which was turned into an assist for Palacio.

[50] After the match Icardi told to the media that the reason he did not celebrate was not the conflict with the fans but failing to find a way to renew his contract with the club directors.

[52] He scored twice on the final day in a 4–3 win over Empoli and finished the season as the joint Serie A top goalscorer with 22 goals with Verona's Luca Toni.

[53] Although Inter failed to qualify for European competition for the second time since 1999, Icardi's form attracted attention from abroad, however he signed a new four-year contract at the season's end.

[56] He made his comeback on 13 September during the 1–0 home win against the cross-town rivals of Milan and opened his scoring account one week later against Chievo Verona, helping Inter to clinch the 4th consecutive victory.

[58] One month later, on 28 October, following the 0–1 away win over Bologna where Icardi scored the only goal of the match following an assist from Adem Ljajić,[59] he complained about lack of services to him, accusing his teammates in the process.

[80] This was followed by a brace in Inter's 2–0 win at Empoli three days later, taking the lead of goalscorers table with six goals in six appearances; it was also the first time that he has scored in four consecutive Serie A matches.

[88] He finished the first part of the season with 14 goals and 5 assists, being the most efficient striker in the top 5 leagues, overtaking stars such Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

[104] Later on throughout the season, on 18 March 2018, Icardi scored four goals, including a 14-minute hat-trick, his 6th in Serie A, against his former club, Sampdoria, to give Inter a 5–0 win at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris.

[111] In the final championship game away versus Lazio, Icardi won and converted a penalty kick to temporally level the score in an eventual 3–2 win.

[115] Icardi played his first match in the UEFA Champions League on 18 September in Inter's opening Group B game against Tottenham Hotspur, netting a late equalizer with a 20-yard volley in an eventual 2–1 home win.

[133] On 8 August 2019, the club signed Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku; the following day he was assigned the number 9 shirt that had been worn by Icardi since his arrival in 2013.

[163] Notably, he played a significant role in the encounter against Alanyaspor on 23 October, where he netted his first league goal and contributed a pivotal outside-of-foot assist to Dries Mertens, ultimately helping them get a draw.

Following a minor injury sustained towards the end of the 2022 FIFA World Cup,[164] the Argentine footballer made an impressive comeback by scoring and assisting in the intercontinental derby against Fenerbahçe, within just fifteen minutes of play.

[185] On November 7, 2024, he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in his right knee during a 3–2 Europa League win against Tottenham Hotspur in Istanbul.

[188][189] His wish was fulfilled on 26 July where he was summoned by Argentina under-20 coach Marcelo Trobbiani to play in the friendly against Germany,[190] in which he made his debut on 14 August at Commerzbank-Arena, and the L'Alcúdia Tournament, held in Valencia, Spain.

"[194] On 15 October 2013, he played his first game for the main squad, coming on as an 82nd-minute substitute for Augusto Fernández in a 2–3 FIFA World Cup qualifier loss away to Uruguay.

[211] Throughout multiple periods, Icardi's form dipped and he was subsequently left out of Argentina's squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup having failed to impress with Paris Saint-Germain or on loan with Galatasaray.

[212][213] Nicknamed El niño del partido,[214] Icardi is a quick, tactically intelligent, and physically strong striker, with good technique.

[214][215][216][217][218] Although he was once criticised for his limited creative and defensive contribution, as well as his lack of significant pace, stamina, power, and movement outside the box,[215][217] his work-rate has improved in recent seasons, and has seen him drift out to wide positions in order to create space or provide assists for teammates.

[224] In an interview in January 2015, Icardi said his role model is Gabriel Batistuta, but during his time at Barcelona, he added that the forward he mostly resembled was Samuel Eto'o.

[230] During an April 2014 Serie A match between Sampdoria and Inter, López notably refused to shake Icardi's hand, leading the press to dub the game the "Wanda derby".