Napoli defender Amir Rrahmani explains his struggles to settle in at the Stadio Maradona and claims ‘everybody would talk about me if I were Italian.’
The 27-year-old joined the Partenopei in 2020 in a €14m move from Hellas Verona. However, he only became a regular starter this season after struggling with playing time under Gennaro Gattuso last term.
“I knew it was not easy to settle in a top club. I arrived from Verona, who play with a different style. They use a three-man defence and man-to-man marking,” he told Il Roma newspaper.
“I was aware of my qualities and I showed the results when I started playing consistently. Now it’s the time to reap the rewards of my work.
“I always say that if I were Italian, everybody would talk about me, apparently my national team is not as famous in footballing terms,” said the Kosovo international.
“It means I have to put in even more efforts to emerge.”
Can Napoli win the Serie A title this season and could he replace Kalidou Koulibaly if the Senegal international leaves at the end of the season?
“I’m superstitious, so I don’t want to say that word [Scudetto]. It would be a dream. We always play to win. Hopefully, something nice will happen, but we can’t know now.
“Koulibaly is a leader and it would be a huge responsibility [to replace him]. Should it happen, there would be no problems. When you grow you have more responsibility, I am ready and it would be a privilege for me.”