Napoli President De Laurentiis made himself felt during the ongoing soft retreat: “We have completed the acquisition of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and we hope he will be a coup. We have to come up with a nickname for him, maybe Zizì.”
The owner spoke up sky sport: “I came here after eight months of silence, not absence. I am in contact with Luciano Spalletti almost every day. We had a chat with him and the medical staff. We were a Ferrari after the summer while other teams are now fitter and better prepared than we are. I can’t accept that. It is inconceivable to have so many losses at home. Milan spends 40 million euros less on wages than we do.”
De Laurentiis stated that Spalletti would continue to manage Napoli: “He still has three years of contract, including a club option. I never thought of replacing him. Our goal is to qualify for the Champions League, with the appetite coming with the food. Nobody thought about winning the Scudetto, the Europa League or the Coppa Italia before the season. Given the COVID-19 pandemic and previous acquisitions, we are in the red at €220m and have our most expensive squad in recent years.”
The chairman addressed the future of Dries Mertens: “Why would he go when he’s surrounded by so much beauty? He even named his son Ciro. However, he has to prove that he wants to stay. He told me we would talk again after the last game.”
“I’m sorry to lose Lorenzo Insigne. I treated him like a son and he will forever be part of Napoli’s history. Next season will be very challenging with all the games planned by UEFA and FIFA. They don’t realize that the fans care about the domestic leagues.”
