Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis reveals Gennaro Gattuso rejected the chance to sign Zlatan Ibrahimovic and explains why Carlo Ancelotti ‘wasn’t smart’ during his time at the club.
The Partenopei have almost secured a top-four finish but saw their title hopes vanish on Sunday following a 3-2 loss against Empoli. Luciano Spalletti is reportedly on the brink and De Laurentiis does not guarantee the coach’s stay at the club beyond the current campaign.
“I chose him in January 2021. I went to his home in Milan and he signed a two-year deal with an option for a third season, which I can activate,” De Laurentiis told DAZN.
“At the beginning, he didn’t want to sign, but then I convinced him. We’ll shake hands when he wants to go and nothing will happen.”
The Partenopei will likely play Champions League football next season after failing to snatch a top-four finish during Gennaro Gattuso’s spell at the club. The former midfielder had replaced Ancelotti in 2019, but never managed to qualify for Europe’s elite competition in Naples. Gattuso, a 2006 Italy World Cup winner, also refused to sign Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
“We had already signed everything with Zlatan, but then Ancelotti was sacked and replaced by Gattuso. He [Gattuso] called me to say: ‘Trust me, we don’t need Ibrahimovic.’ And I trusted him.”
What went wrong with Ancelotti?
“He is a top coach, but Napoli fans didn’t like him. He wasn’t smart enough to be seen as one of us.”
Napoli earned a runner-up finish in Serie A in Ancelotti’s first season at Napoli in 2018-19, but the coach was sacked in December 2019 despite a 4-0 win over Genk. Ancelotti was against a training retreat imposed by the club. The full interview with De Laurentiis will be aired later today.
De Laurentiis: 'Ho scelto io #Spalletti, #Ancelotti poco furbo. #Ibrahimovic? Era fatta, poi #Gattuso disse no' https://t.co/iK53h8zBOD pic.twitter.com/u53QdeplQE
— calciomercato.com (@cmdotcom) April 29, 2022
at least he was smart enough to leave your trash club of losers
This is as much of a criticism of Ancelotti as it is of Napoli. If Ancelotti, one of the most successful managers of all-time, isn’t able to be seen as Neapolitan, then maybe its because the Neapolitan football identity is one of provinciality, victimization, and being runners-up. This sounds harsh, but under De Laurentiis, even with the best squad in the world, Napoli would find a way to lose. It’s the same mentality issues every year, no matter the manager.
@lol
Thrash is what YOU are.