The Rosario-born striker, who had moved to the Canary Islands at the age of nine, signed with the Catalan club's youth ranks in 2008 – the same year a certain other Argentine from Rosario, Lionel Messi, donned the senior squad's No.10 shirt for the first time.

However, despite his undeniable quality, Icardi failed to follow in his countryman's footsteps and
become a star at Barcelona.

The young attacker would soon come to realise that in order to succeed in the professional ranks, he had to look beyond Camp Nou, the very pitch on which he will lead out Inter as club captain on Wednesday
evening.

Icardi eventually left in January 2011, joining Sampdoria on loan for the second half of the
season.

He would not return, not as a Barca player anyway, as the Genoa club paid the €400,000 required to make the deal permanent in the summer of 2011.

The rest, as they say, is history.