Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis continues to drop hints Kalidou Koulibaly could leave, while insisting Maurizio Sarri was ‘stupid’ to leave for Chelsea and Juventus.
Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis continues to drop hints Kalidou Koulibaly could leave, while insisting Maurizio Sarri was ‘stupid’ to leave for Chelsea and Juventus.
The President has been on a media frenzy with a series of interviews today after finally announcing Victor Osimhen’s transfer from Lille for €50m cash, €10m in bonuses, goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis and three youth players.
It’s reported, as hinted also by Koulibaly, that the defender will only be sold if someone reaches the right asking price and so far Manchester City bid at most €65m.
“Kalidou is a wonderful person and of course it’d be sad to lose him,” De Laurentiis told Sky Sport Italia.
“Everything has a time and a place, even when it comes to going our separate ways. Having said that, we don’t have €90m on the table and in any case, it takes two to separate.”
De Laurentiis also commented on Sarri winning the Serie A title in his first season at Juventus, the club’s ninth in a row.
“It’s normality to win at Juventus,” he shrugged. “Sarri will always remain in my heart, as his football here astonished all of Europe. I will always thank him for that, but we all do stupid things in life, he did two or three that were avoidable, but that’s his problem.
“All I can say is that’s a pity, because if he had remained at Napoli, perhaps he could’ve helped us to win the Scudetto. Instead, he said ‘why should I take a risk? I’ll go elsewhere.’
“He went elsewhere, but I don’t think he’s been as happy as he was at Napoli.”
Gennaro Gattuso was brought in after Carlo Ancelotti’s dismissal in mid-December.
“Gattuso is a real man, but also an ex-player who won a World Cup. He has nothing to prove to anyone and in that sense, we are very similar. I never keep someone against their will. If Rino is happy here, the marriage will continue. If he wants to try new experiences, we’ll get over it.
“For the moment, he has started a new era, which will last as long as it lasts.”