Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis uses no half-measures to discuss Gonzalo Higuain: 'He's a traitor, no exaggeration!'
The film mogul was bitterly opposed to selling his star striker to the club's most direct rivals, but when the Old Lady activated the player's buy-out clause, he had to cave in.
Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis uses no half-measures to discuss Gonzalo Higuain: 'He's a traitor, no exaggeration!'
The film mogul was bitterly opposed to selling his star striker to the club's most direct rivals, but when the Old Lady activated the player's buy-out clause, he had to cave in.
“Half an hour after we were informed by Juventus that they intended to pay the clause, we started planning our future,” De Laurentiis told Il Corriere dello Sport. “We understood, ever since the first statements released by Higuain's brother [and agent], that we risked having to look for a new striker.
“But we didn't seriously expect him to leave, nor that he'd erase his three years in Naples in this manner. Some believe that talking of a betrayal is an exaggeration, but I think differently. In this move there is the full meaning of a betrayal, which includes ingratitude.
“I'd like to close the matter without wasting polemics. I had a certain consideration of Juventus, but I expected a different behaviour from them. It's true, there was a clause, and no formal foul play has been made, other perhaps than the player's secret medicals. But in this ruthless football, there is no respect at all for sentiment.”