Inter wild child Mauro Icardi, who's at odds with his own fans and married his football friend's ex-wife

It is to be welcomed. The first leg meeting between Celtic and Inter in the last 32 of the Europa League does not require any additional hype, but the involvement of this young, Argentinian forward brings an added dimension to the already considerable Box Office appeal.

Let it be said, first and foremost, that Icardi has the makings of a fine player. He has scored 18 goals in 30 appearances across all competitions this season, statistics made all the more impressive by the fact he has been playing in a struggling team.

Who knows where Inter would be without him? With Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United understood to be monitoring his current contract negotiations with the Nerazzurri closely, we may soon find out.

Branding outraged Inter Ultras "pieces of s***' during an unsightly argument at the end of a recent defeat away to Sassuolo hardly gave the impression he is a man blissfully happy at his work. His refusal to celebrate, on the say-so of his agent, after scoring two goals in an ensuing 3-0 win over Palermo created headlines too.

However, his on-field antics still have some way to go before they overshadow what he has been up to away from the pitch. Having moved to the Canary Islands with his family aged nine, he signed for Barcelona aged 15 and was sold on to Sampdoria three years later.

There, he became firm friends with his countryman and team-mate, Maxi Lopez, and his wife, an Argentinian TV personality called Wanda Nara. After moving to Milan, he would begin an affair with Nara following the breakdown of her marriage to Lopez.

When the relationship was exposed, a feud began that bubbles to this day.

Wanda and Mauro, now man and wife themselves after tying the knot in Buenos Aires last May, like to share their lives on social media, you see. Among other things, we have had Icardi posting snaps of himself with Lopez's three children, photos of him and the good lady in bed together and one picture of him having the names of Lopez's kids tattooed on his left arm.

It is manna from heaven for those dreadful, celebrity-driven chat shows that most Latin countries seem to specialise in. Diego Maradona has even been dragged in to have his say on the issue.

"I say Icardi is a traitor," stated Maradona. "He goes to Maxi Lopez's house, plays like he's his friend and then steals his wife.

"In my day, you know what we would've done to someone like that? We'd have put him in the middle of a circle and taken turns to beat him up."

Icardi finally responded in a revealing interview with the Italian magazine, Sportweek, earlier this month.

"When they told me what he said, I had a good laugh," he remarked. "I think people should just focus on their own lives and mind their own business before talking.

"Nobody is 100 per cent clean. I don't talk to Maxi Lopez and neither does Wanda. He phones every day, we read his name on the display and hand it over to the kids. That's it."

Both men came face-to-face for the first time after that high-profile split when Inter and Icardi travelled to Sampdoria on league business last April. The press branded it 'the Wanda Derby'. There were no handshakes between them. No eye contact.

Lopez missed a penalty while Icardi scored in a 4-0 win. The Inter manager, Walter Mazzarri, upbraided his centre-forward publicly for running straight to the Sampdoria Ultras in the Gradinata Sud of the Luigi Ferrari Stadium after putting the ball in the net and cupping his ears.

"All he had to do was go back to the centre of the field and not make that gesture," said Mazzarri. "If we manage to get rid of all the superfluous things about him, he's going to become a great player."

Icardi has already made it clear this week that he will feed off a thunderous atmosphere inside Celtic Park. That game in Genoa can be taken as historical proof that he means it.

"Football is a sport I have fun with, but I play it and that's all," said Icardi. "I never watch games and know nothing about what's going on in the sport.

"I've always been like that, ever since I was a kid. At the Barcelona youth academy, I lived right next to Camp Nou, but I spent my days watching movies. There are plenty of professional players who couldn't care less about football."

Icardi is also preoccupied with the challenges of being a father, himself, now. His daughter, Francesca, was born in Milan last month. He, naturally, posted a 'selfie' from the delivery room on Twitter and, later, allowed his fans and followers to see her name being etched across his collarbone in ink.

"Wanda says I'm a 40-year-old trapped in a 20-year-old's body," he said. "I've been more mature than my years since I was 10.

"It's thanks to my mother, who let me free to crash face-first into a few walls. She helped me understand life is not Disneyland."

Icardi does seem to exist in an alternative reality to most of us, mind you, with a reputation for fast cars and a certain fondness for bling.

"I am a bit of a chav," he confessed. "My agent tells me that all the time too. I have a Lamborghini, a Rolls Royce and a Hummer. I just got the name of an expert and will have all the interiors customised.

"I don't know why I keep getting roped in with the so-called 'bad boys' of football, though. I really don't care either. The unhappy people are those who listen to others. I never listened to anyone and I'm very happy."

Like him or loathe him, Mauro Icardi is certainly a fellow rather difficult to ignore.