Mauro Icardi News: 'Icardi worth more than Messi and Ronaldo,' claims Inter boss

What's the story?

Inter boss Luciano Spalletti has claimed that Mauro Icardi is more valuable than Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

In case you didn't know...

Icardi has proven his caliber against the toughest of opponents for Inter since arriving at the club in 2013. The former captain has scored nine goals in the Serie A this campaign and 15 in all competitions.

However, Icardi has not played a single match for the club since he was stripped of the captain's armband in February amid uncertainty over the striker's future.

Samir Handanovic was handed the captaincy last month but Inter have endured a free-fall without Icardi.

Inter suffered another 1-0 loss recently against Lazio and Spalletti described the contract talks between the Argentine and the club as humiliating.

The heart of the matter

Spalletti has now confirmed that Icardi will feature for Inter in their upcoming match and claimed that the Argentine forward is more valuable than Ronaldo and Messi.

"In the context of our team, Icardi is worth more than Messi and Ronaldo put together. He is now in a position to help the team," the Italian boss stated as quoted by Goal.

"Icardi is available. The work done by Marotta has been instrumental in ensuring that all parties can take part in real and not virtual discussions.

"He will start. He's shown the right reaction mentally – something which is more important than the physical side of things.

"We'll see how long he'll be able to remain on the pitch and if we'll need to take him off. The squad is together as one. And a strong squad is something that defines Inter."

What's next?

Inter will face Genoa next in the Serie A as they look to get their campaign back on track.