Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis says the Partenopei have ‘always been competitive’ and the ‘most honest club.’
The Partenopei President has joined the team in Germany, where they will visit Eintracht Frankfurt in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16 on Tuesday.
“It’s surprising to see so many people excited about a Napoli side that have been extremely competitive,” ADL told reporters, as quoted by Gazzetta.
“I don’t want to say the best, but extremely competitive and the most honest.”
Napoli are 15 points above second-placed Inter in Serie A and dream of their first Scudetto in over 30 years. This despite many fans and media predicting in August that the Azzurri would not finish in the top four this season.
“Fans are always right, but usually, they play virtual football,” said De Laurentiis.
“They are close to the team with heart, soul and bets. They have the right to say anything, but we are inside and we know how it works, that’s why I said we’d be title contenders at the start of the season.
“We have a coach who knows how to do his job. He knows how to make it work. Of course, he can’t know every player in the world. Coaches are focused on the pitch, not the market.”
He also confirmed Napoli had targeted Khvicha Kvaratskhelia before the COVID pandemic.
“We had seen him three years ago but the asking price was €30m and we had lost €200m due to the COVID pandemic, so we couldn’t afford him,” revealed ADL.