Dries Mertens talked about his “insane” last year at Napoli, why there ought to be a documentary on Maurizio Sarri and being a €28m “bargain.”
His career was transformed a year ago when turned into a centre-forward to replace injured Arkadiusz Milik and he hasn’t looked back.
He spoke to Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws about his time at the Stadio San Paolo. You can read the rest of his comments here.
Dries Mertens talked about his “insane” last year at Napoli, why there ought to be a documentary on Maurizio Sarri and being a €28m “bargain.”
His career was transformed a year ago when turned into a centre-forward to replace injured Arkadiusz Milik and he hasn’t looked back.
He spoke to Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws about his time at the Stadio San Paolo. You can read the rest of his comments here.
“The last 12 months have been insane. It’s important to be happy. I know it won’t get much better than this… I know I’m not a Leo Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. I don’t see myself as a world class player. Napoli’s game is perfect for me. I will always get goals here.”
This form attracted interest from clubs all over the world, including Manchester United, especially as his release clause is only €28m.
“It’s true, we negotiated that this summer. Last winter I received an offer from China: I would’ve earned an incredible sum. But Napoli didn’t want me to go, and I wanted to stay. So nothing came of it.
“But what if an offer like that were to come in again? That’s why I wanted a release clause in my new contract. It’s true €28m isn’t much for a Chinese club, and it’s a decent sum for Napoli too. At least, it was until Neymar went to Paris Saint-Germain, because now people treat €28m like it’s nothing.
“I have become a bargain! Where do you find a player who scores 28 Serie A goals and costs €28m? Nowhere, right? I negotiated well.”
Yet Mertens has no particular desire to move on yet, especially with Sarri at the helm.
“Someone really ought to make a documentary on Sarri. For example, every now and then he gives these speeches before a game: ‘I came from **** and now I’m in the Champions League. Nobody can take that away from us.’ Fantastic.
“Our careers are similar. I’m not like Youri Tielemens who played for the Anderlecht first team when he was 16, or Romelu Lukaku who doesn’t know what it means to only have one game per week. I come from the third tier, I worked hard to get where I am today. Just like Sarri.
“The Coach does smoke and drink a lot of coffee, but he also reads constantly. He comes from the world of economy (as a former banker, ndr) and is well-prepared when it comes to statistics.
“His philosophy has won over young Coaches and the respect Pep Guardiola has for him proves that Sarri knows what he’s talking about. He’s a great tactician. I said that even when I was on the bench!
“There is one more thing, his superstition is off the charts. One day we train on one pitch, then the one next to it, then another until we reach our objective. He knows no deviations from the routine – unless we lose.”