Mauro Icardi banned from driving in Argentina until 2099

Mauro Icardi has been banned from driving in Argentina until 1 January 2099, after a video showed his girlfriend leaning out of the window of a moving car he was driving.

The Argentine Ministry of Transport imposed the ban as a provisional measure. It posted the clip on its page on X, together with an image of a card from its registration system showing the 2099 date. In the video, the 33-year-old forward is at the wheel while China Suarez lifts herself through the window until her head is above the roof. According to Onefootball, the car was on the grounds of a gated residential complex, and Suarez unfastened her seat belt before climbing out.

The ministry said in its accompanying post: "After the video was circulated, we established that Icardi's driving licence had expired." Onefootball reports that the authorities say his Italian licence should have been renewed and extended in Buenos Aires as far back as May 2019.

Icardi, who left Galatasaray as a free agent and was with the club from August 2023, disputed the ruling. Sky Sport Germany quoted a post he published on social media.

"I would like to know how they managed to declare my Italian licence invalid, when it is valid until 2029," Icardi wrote. "I find it rather strange that even the Ministry of Transport is concerned with me. Better to get on with repairing the roads. Do your job instead of doing nothing."

The ban is described as preliminary.