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In one of the bizarre claims in the football world. Ex-Barcelona star Sergi Gomez claimed that his former teammate Mauro Icardi killed and ate a pigeon in front of him and the team. Sergi Gomez, the graduate of La Masia academy, who joined Barcelona at the age of 14 and spent eight years at the club, made an appearance on the Spanish podcast Post United. During his time at the academy, Gomez shared an apartment with fellow youth players Mauro Icardi, Marc Muniesa, and Sergi Roberto.
While speaking at the podcast Gomez said, "Mauro arrived at La Masía and we were teammates for three or four seasons. During one of those seasons, we shared an apartment. One day, he said to me, "Sergi, come with me to the park next door." He was carrying a Y-shaped piece of wood that he had cut the day before, with a rubber band tied to it. He had made a homemade slingshot. We went to the park, and he pointed to a very tall pine tree and said, "See up there?" He grabbed a rock, stretched the rubber band, and... boom. He brought down the pigeon from a height of 20 or 30 meters,' Gomez added. We went back, he plucked its feathers, threaded a wire through it, lit a fire, and ate it in front of me. I remember thinking: "What awaits me if we start like this."
Mauro Icardi's short journey with Barcelona, that changed his life
Icardi joined Barcelona ahead of the 2008-09 season, reportedly rejecting offers from several clubs, including Arsenal, Liverpool, and Valencia. However, the journey with the club was cut short in just three years; he departed the Camp Nou to join Serie A club Sampdoria. The reason behind this cut short was the differences between his overall playing style and Barcelona’s footballing philosophy. Icardi himself stated that Barcelona’s style of play was "very different from my characteristics" and that Italian football was a better fit for him.
Meanwhile, Argentine's former agent Abian Morano also feels that the departure from Barcelona has changed Icard's life. While speaking to Toda Pasion, he said, "Leaving Barcelona changed Icardi's life. That step to Italian football was decisive and I am convinced that without that decision today wouldn't be a professional footballer. "The system of Barcelona changed, as strikers went into the background. In the first team, Samuel Eto'o was moved to the wing, as was David Villa and even [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic spent almost a year on the bench.
