Napoli’s Aurelio De Laurentiis hit out at Maurizio Sarri for ‘errors in judgment’ last season and challenged Edinson Cavani to ‘call me and lower his salary’.
Napoli’s Aurelio De Laurentiis hit out at Maurizio Sarri for ‘errors in judgment’ last season and challenged Edinson Cavani to ‘call me and lower his salary’.
De Laurentiis regularly took digs at Sarri throughout his three-year spell with Napoli, despite the Chelsea boss-elect leading the Partenopei to as many top-three finishes, while Cavani has made no secret of his desire to re-join the San Paolo side one day.
“Last season was distorted and snatched from us: we belong to what [former Italian actor] Toto called ‘The Band of Honest Men’ [referring to the film],” explained the President to fans from the club’s preseason camp in Dimaro.
“That aside, there were errors in judgment throughout the season, the ability to be able to use the squad fully…
“Still, I don’t want to get into a technical speech or re-open any wounds that have healed. Cavani? I know you’d all like him, but I can clear this up immediately.
“Edi earns €20m every 10 months. Having him and not letting the others play, at a time when our Coach has just taken charge, would be a serious problem.
“Having only one player isn’t enough to win: we had Higuain, who broke the [goalscoring] record with us to earn double.
“We’re making assists, those who work with us break records and go on to earn double.
“Cavani has my number. If he wants, he can call me, lower his salary and put me in touch with PSG.
“I know he’d like to come back, but he had no qualms about leaving to earn three times more.”