Mauro Icardi: "Play at the highest level"
The Argentinian attacker, who became 100% Parisian on May 31 after a first season on loan, speaks for the first time since signing his permanent deal at Paris Saint-Germain, and talks about his objectives in Rouge et Bleu.
Mauro, what's your feeling after putting pen to paper on your Paris contract?
"It was important for me to make a giant stride in my career. I'm 27 years old and I have spent a lot of time in Italy. I wanted to join a club like Paris Saint-Germain in order to win trophies and play at the highest level. All of that meant that I wanted to change and progress. I spent seven years at Inter and I played at a very high level. I chose to come to Paris Saint-Germain in order to improve. The next four years will undoubtedly be my peak years. I want to continue to show what I'm capable of doing."
How was confinement for you?
"It was difficult to stay fit during confinement because a footballer isn't used to staying inactive for such a long time. You can run and do exercises but it doesn't replace playing matches. We're now back and we can concentrate fully on the objectives to come."
There are two finals to be played at the end of the month...
"It's important for us to win the two Cups. We were stuck at home for a while and now we are back on the pitches. We want to prepare in order to take on the challenges in the best way possible. We want to win as these are two finals we have to play before the Champions League returns. They are objectives for us. We have time to prepare in order to win them."
What's your view of the French league title won in March?
"It was my first with Paris. It was a bit bizarre to win it like that but during the season, before the confinement, we had proved our quality and shown that we were on course to win the title. We proved we were a top team and at the end of the day we are champions."