Napoli Coach Maurizio Sarri discusses Gonzalo Higuain’s departure – “I could have expected the Premier League, not Juventus”.
The striker was Capocannoniere in Serie A last year, scoring 36 goals in just 35 League games and becoming an idol for the Partenopei fans.
However, when Juve activated his €90m release clause in the summer, ‘Pipita’ made a highly controversial switch to Turin.
Napoli Coach Maurizio Sarri discusses Gonzalo Higuain’s departure – “I could have expected the Premier League, not Juventus”.
The striker was Capocannoniere in Serie A last year, scoring 36 goals in just 35 League games and becoming an idol for the Partenopei fans.
However, when Juve activated his €90m release clause in the summer, ‘Pipita’ made a highly controversial switch to Turin.
“He’s a particular kind of lad, he needs certain things to look great,” Sarri told Sky in an interview which had been previewed on Sunday night.
“I’ve always said he’s the best out-and-out striker in the world, not often to him, but I’d ask for more from him in training.
“He needs to demand more from himself, so there were more reproaches than praise, but publicly I eulogised him.
“The abandonment was a bad time, I could have expected the Premier League, but not Juventus. That made it worse.
“For a while I didn’t hear from him, I didn’t want to hear from him. It’s like when a child makes you angry, you might tear them to pieces for a few days but they’re still your child.
“He made a questionable choice, but that doesn’t mean he’s a bad person.”
Higuain has criticised Napoli’s President, Aurelio De Laurentiis, how is he to work with?
“He’s usually very calm. He’s a President who has sudden bouts of rage, but they’re brief. After a few minutes he’s back to the first.
“In meetings or phone conversations with me he’s always quiet and calm.
“I don’t ask him for anything, I’m not that kind of Coach, but now everyone talks about the transfer market rather than the pitch.
“There are empty stadiums but everyone talks about the transfer market, it means we’ve lost touch with reality.
“My mentality isn’t to say ‘I want this’ or ‘I want that’, because we’re also at a club where some things aren’t feasible, other clubs in Europe have a huge turnover.
“It’s right that ADL looks after the club.”