Mauro Icardi Reportedly Pushed Toward Real Madrid by Inter Dressing Room Divide

A split in the Inter Milan dressing room is reportedly pushing club captain Mauro Icardi toward alleged suitors Real Madrid, while a spat with wife and agent Wanda Nara is also said to have exacerbated his situation in Italy. 

Italian website Calciomercato.com cited a report from newspaper Il Corriere della Sera that said Icardi had a "severe confrontation" with team-mate Ivan Perisic and Marcelo Brozovic following the 1-1 draw at SPAL on Sunday.

This was followed by a post from Icardi on his official Instagram account, which BBC Sport translated as a possible suggestion from the striker that he's ready to move on from the San Siro:

Perisic is also said to have "unfriended" Icardi on Facebook, while Brozovic is no longer following the Argentinian on Instagram.

Argentina manager Jorge Sampaoli recently commented on links between Real and his international player, hinting both parties could want a move to materialise after months of speculation, per Goal:

The Nerazzurri have drawn their last four matches in succession and are without a victory in seven outings across all competitions.

Despite the fact Inter have claimed just five of their last 21 possible points in Serie A, Icardi remains the second-highest scorer in the Italian top flight this season with 18 goals in 22 outings, behind only Lazio's Ciro Immobile (20).

Meanwhile, no player in Real's squad has yet reached double digits in goals for the league campaign, with first-choice striker Karim Benzema posting a disappointing two strikes in 14 La Liga appearances this term.

Icardi is reported to have a €110 million (£96.7 million) release clause at Inter, and Yahoo's Andrew Gaffney recently backed the South American to succeed if he were to get a big move away:

Mino Raiola, representative to stars such as Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, has also reportedly contacted Icardi to see if wanted to become his client, with current agent Nara enduring tax-fraud allegations in Italy.

Argentinian football writer Peter Coates also gave Icardi his backing as an elite-level scorer, touching on the controversy said to be following his partner (warning, NSFW language):

Any move to join Raiola in the near future, splitting from his wife—at least in a business sense—would add further fuel to the fire of speculation Icardi is interested in an Inter exit.

Real's troubles this season—Los Blancos are fourth in La Liga—could lead to a big push in the transfer market this summer, and the reported tense atmosphere at Inter could make Icardi a prime candidate for arrival.