Carlo Ancelotti looked back at the reasons behind his sudden Napoli exit, confirming the club ‘no longer had faith’ in him. ‘But three days later, I was at Everton.’
Now at the helm of Real Madrid, in the Champions League semi-finals and on the verge of winning LaLiga for the first time in his career.
The situation was very different in December 2019 when he was fired by Napoli after just 73 games in charge.
“I was happy at Napoli, I cannot say anything bad about the clubs, which isn’t among the greats, but is still always in the running for the top four,” Ancelotti told Movistar+ in Spain.
“The needs of the club was to be among the top teams. We had a good squad, did well the first season, in the second did very well in the Champions League, winning in Liverpool and reaching the Round of 16.
“Then in December the club wasn’t happy, we had a little discussion on the training retreat. They wanted to have one, I did not.
“At the end of the day, they weren’t happy and we went our separate ways, but there were no clashes. And three days later, I was at Everton.”
The row over that training retreat is still having effects to this day, with the club suing several players – former and current – to dock them wages for their refusal to go back into the team hotel.
Many players were sold or released because of the argument and the rapport with captain Lorenzo Insigne never recovered.
President Aurelio De Laurentiis is a fiery figure who has a very hands-on approach to the squad.
“De Laurentiis is an amusing and likeable figure. I got along with him, we separated without clashes,” added Ancelotti.
“He no longer had faith in me. It’s true that we weren’t doing well in Serie A, but we were in the Champions League. The objective of the club was Serie A, though.”
#SerieA, @sscnapoli | Le parole di #Ancelotti sull’esperienza al club e su come sia finitahttps://t.co/tdX1Yl7oxF
— Gianluca Di Marzio (@DiMarzio) April 27, 2022