Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis gave his players the afternoon off their training retreat after locking the whole squad into a hotel for a week.
The decision was made to put the players into the retreat, known in Italian football as a ‘ritiro’, following a series of dismal results.
This culminated in the 4-0 Coppa Italia defeat to Frosinone and one point from the last three Serie A games against Roma, Monza and Torino.
They were meant to remain in the hotel with coach Walter Mazzarri non-stop in the build-up to Saturday’s local derby with Salernitana.
However, today President De Laurentiis intervened and gave the squad the afternoon off following an appeal from captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo.
The players were able to therefore spend a few hours at home with their families.
It is particularly important considering they are then going to fly straight out to Riyadh on Sunday to prepare for the Supercoppa Italiana.
They face Fiorentina in the semi-final on January 18 and hope to reach the Final against either Inter or Lazio.
Napoli, De Laurentiis sospende il ritiro per qualche ora#SkySport #Napoli #DeLaurentiis https://t.co/vYB3mwTsP7
— skysport (@SkySport) January 11, 2024
quite possibly the biggest clown owner in sports history