Napoli fans are right to be furious with Aurelio De Laurentiis this summer after his baffling tactics let stars like Kalidou Koulibaly and Dries Mertens leave in an incredibly anonymous fashion, writes Apollo Heyes.
The Senegalese defender joined Chelsea in a €40m transfer earlier this week and Luciano Spalletti confirmed yesterday that the Belgian forward won’t be tied down to a new contract, meaning two fan favourites have left the shadow of the Vesuvius without as much as a wave.
Coming into this transfer window, it soon became clear that De Laurentiis wanted to cut Napoli’s wage bill significantly. The supporters had already begrudgingly accepted the departure of local hero Lorenzo Insigne but they were expecting new contracts for both Koulibaly and Mertens, reflecting their importance to both the club and the city as a whole
Both players were more than just players at Napoli, fully embracing the unique Neapolitan culture and immersing themselves in the city itself. Insigne said an emotional farewell to the fans at the end of last season, something the Napoli president essentially denied to Koulibaly and Mertens with his confusing and unexpected contract negotiation tactics.
The supporters are absolutely justified in their frustration, which was plainly visible during Spalletti’s speech yesterday, where he was heavily booed and heckled.
The team were justifiably in the title race for large parts of last season and the next step seemed to be a few improvements to try and finally close the gap to the Milanese clubs, but instead De Laurentiis’ work could see them even struggle to secure a top four finish.