Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis was heckled by fans in the street as he commented that Dries Mertens had ‘turned down’ the offer of €2.4m per season for a new contract.
The Belgium international is the club’s all-time top scorer with 148 goals in 397 competitive matches and had been there since the summer of 2013.
His deal expired on June 30 and no agreement has been reached to sign a new deal, although negotiations are still continuing.
De Laurentiis was heckled by fans in the streets of Naples this evening, but also spoke to a supporter about the Mertens situation.
“I offered him first €1.8m, then raised it by €200,000 and then up to €2.4m and he turned it down…”
Was it a one-year contract or more for the 35-year-old?
“He wanted to stay for one year.”
It’s worth noting that Mertens did have an option to extend his previous contract at €4.5m net per season, which the club refused to activate.
Instead, Napoli offered him less than half that salary in order to stay for one more season.