Galatasaray are preparing to say goodbye to Mauro Icardi rather than welcome him back to Istanbul, bringing an influential four-season spell to its conclusion.
The Argentine forward has been without a club since his Galatasaray contract expired on 30 June. A possible return had remained under discussion in recent days, including reports that he might lower his demands, but president Dursun Özbek has now ruled out a new agreement.
Quick facts
- Icardi’s Galatasaray deal ended on 30 June.
- He played 134 matches for the Istanbul club.
- The striker scored 77 goals and supplied 25 assists.
- He won four league titles during four seasons with Galatasaray.
- The club are awaiting his reply before arranging a farewell event.
Özbek said Galatasaray did make an offer to retain Icardi, but the player’s expectations did not fit the club’s circumstances. The issue, he explained, was not simply financial.
Victor Osimhen is now in place as the club’s central striker, and Galatasaray believe it would be difficult to accommodate both forwards within the same project. “The question was how both would play and which one would be used,” Özbek said.
That sporting calculation has ended the prospect of another chapter for Icardi at the Istanbul side, despite his standing among supporters. Özbek described the former captain as a club icon and credited him with helping to bring a generation of fans closer to Galatasaray.
The next step depends on Icardi’s response. Once it arrives, Galatasaray intend to organise a farewell for a forward whose goals and trophies made him one of the defining figures of the club’s recent era.
