Diego Maradona Says Mauro Icardi Is 'Dead' to Him After Maxi Lopez Controversy

Argentina legend Diego Maradona has said his compatriot, Inter Milan striker Mauro Icardi, is "dead to me" following his controversial feud with former team-mate Maxi Lopez. 

According to Radio Metro (h/t Football Italia), Maradona was asked if the 23-year-old should be part of La Albiceleste's squad for the upcoming Olympics, to which he replied:

Icardi doesn’t exist to me. He could be captain of the cosmos, after what happened I’m a fan of [Lopez]. That’s not done, brother.

You feed him, you let him in your house and then this happens? No. Those who don’t have moral codes are dead to me.

The pair were team-mates at Sampdoria when Icardi entered a relationship with and later married Lopez's ex-wife Wanda Nara. Lopez has since refused to shake hands with the Inter forward.

According to the MailOnline's David Kent, Icardi also had Lopez's three children with Nara tattooed on his arm, tweeting: "I love these three little angels:"

Per Fox Sports (h/t Goal's Daniel Edwards), Icardi recently opened up on the controversy:

Everyone speaks about the Wanda issue without knowing the truth. When I started with her I played alongside Diego Milito, [Javier] Zanetti, [Esteban] Cambiasso, [Walter] Samuel, and they all knew the story because I told them.

I was a friend of the couple, an acquaintance, and it was all very normal. After that, Wanda split up and we kept in contact, and it just happened. 

I fell in love, that's something you should judge solely on its own merits. But [Lopez] was not my best friend, nothing like that. We were colleagues in Sampdoria, nothing else.

The striker netted 16 goals for Inter last season, and while that wasn't enough to earn him a place in Gerardo Martino's Copa America squad, he is on the shortlist for Rio 2016, per Edwards. He added:

I was a little surprised to be on the Rio list because after everything that's been said, in Twitter and social media everything comes out, some people believed I was never going to get called.

It is great to be on the Olympic list because it is a prize for my Inter performances. 

I can tell Martino that here in Italy I am on the front pages every Monday, but of the sports newspapers. In Argentina I am always linked to the show business world. If you are a national team coach, you can only judge on what happens on the pitch.

Due to his age, Icardi can be included in the Olympic squad without taking one of the places reserved for three overage players.

He will be among the most experienced and proven strikers at the tournament if he is selected, which could give Argentina an excellent chance of picking up a medal.

La Albiceleste have gained two golds and a silver in the last three Olympics they've qualified for, and further success could be on the cards.