Andrea Ranocchia insists Inter’s playing squad had nothing to do with Mauro Icardi’s departure from the club.

Former captain Icardi left for Paris Saint-Germain last week, agreeing to a season-long loan deal with an option to buy.

The striker inked a one-year contract extension at San Siro before moving on deadline day but appears unlikely to revive his Inter career after months of tension.
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Luciano Spalletti stripped him of the armband the last term and new boss Antonio Conte signed another striker in Romelu Lukaku during the close season.

Centre-back Ranocchia claims the issues, which are said to have stemmed from stalled contract talks, never affected Icardi’s relationship with his team-mates, despite reports they grew unhappy with public criticism from his wife and agent Wanda Nara.

“As I’ve always said, it was a problem between the club and the player,” Ranocchia told Sky Sport Italia.

“They found a suitable solution for both sides and now we must continue what we started.

“During pre-season and in these first weeks of the league, the Icardi issue did not take any energy away from us.”

Conte guided Inter to two Serie A wins from two before the international break to stir hopes of an improvement on last season’s fourth-place finish.

Ranocchia started both games and believes the Nerazzurri can achieve great things under the former Juventus and Chelsea boss.

“It’s a very long season, there are many things that can happen and now the games will start every three days,” the 31-year-old said.

“But the work we are doing is aimed at creating something extraordinary.
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