Aurelio De Laurentiis confirmed that he was ‘happy’ with his team’s draw in the Champions League Round of 16, as the Partenopei are set to face Barcelona over two legs in February and March.
The Napoli President was approached by reporters outside the Lega Serie A HQ on Monday afternoon after the draw took place earlier in the day at UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
When asked if he was pleased with the outcome of the draw, De Laurentiis replied: “Very much so, that is a proper team, like ours,” reported via TMW.
This will be the seventh time that Napoli and Barcelona have met in official matches, however, the Italian side are yet to win in any of their previous six encounters with the Blaugrana.
Barcelona have won four of the previous six matches between the two sides, while the other two have ended in draws.
The most recent match between Napoli and Barcelona came in the Europa League Knock-out round play-offs in the 2021-22 season. While the first leg ended level at 1-1, Barcelona ran out 4-2 victors in Naples in the return leg for a 5-3 aggregate score.
The first leg between Napoli and Barca in this year’s Champions League will fall on Wednesday February 24, while the second leg, in Catalonia, is set for Tuesday March 12.