Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis accuses former Coach Maurizio Sarri of 'lacking confidence' in the club.
Sarri led the Partenopei to second place in Serie A last season, amassing a club-record 91 points over the course of the campaign.
The San Paolo club's efforts saw them just miss out to Juventus in the race for the Scudetto, with Sarri heavily linked with replacing Antonio Conte at English Premier League side Chelsea.
Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis accuses former Coach Maurizio Sarri of 'lacking confidence' in the club.
Sarri led the Partenopei to second place in Serie A last season, amassing a club-record 91 points over the course of the campaign.
The San Paolo club's efforts saw them just miss out to Juventus in the race for the Scudetto, with Sarri heavily linked with replacing Antonio Conte at English Premier League side Chelsea.
And with the 59-year-old's future unclear after he publically refused to commit to remain at Napoli, De Laurentiis hired Carlo Ancelotti to replace him.
"I have always been very polite to him, I have always supported him," the Partenopei patron told Corriere dello Sport when asked about the former Empoli boss.
"But at a certain point, if you have a contract with me for another two years but you start publically expressing doubts – saying things like 'I don't know if I'm staying,' 'I don't know whether the club will be able to keep their best players,' 'in life sometimes it's best to end stories while they are good,' – it sends clear messages of impatience and a lack of confidence.
"Maurizio never answered me [about whether he was staying]. If you close the door in my face, I will politely stay away so as to not disturb your work, but only up to a certain point.
"After that I have the right and the duty to protect the interests of the club and start to look elsewhere."
Sarri, who was not sacked by Napoli, is still technically under contract at the club for another two years.
However, De Laurentiis confirmed he would be 'reasonable' if another club wished to hire him.
"If anyone comes to negotiate for him, I will be very reasonable.
"I am not a vindictive person and, I repeat, Sarri will always have my thanks."
The film producer added that, despite Sarri's League achievements last season, it would have been better to enjoy an extended run in the Champions League.
"The points record is not a club objective, but a personal achievement.
"It would have been better to come second with 81 points and go further in Europe."