Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis reveals he is holding out for an all-Italian European Super Cup between his club and Juventus next season.
Juve reached the Champions League quarter-finals with a comeback victory over Atletico Madrid on Tuesday, while Napoli are on course to make the last eight of the Europa League as they lead Red Bull Salzburg 3-0 in their last-16 tie.
“They had a good game,” De Laurentiis told reporters.
Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis reveals he is holding out for an all-Italian European Super Cup between his club and Juventus next season.
Juve reached the Champions League quarter-finals with a comeback victory over Atletico Madrid on Tuesday, while Napoli are on course to make the last eight of the Europa League as they lead Red Bull Salzburg 3-0 in their last-16 tie.
“They had a good game,” De Laurentiis told reporters.
“I rate Simeone, but he lost the game. An all-Italian European Super Cup? It would be a gift for all the Napoli fans and I…
“Bridging the gap with them? I can’t get into debt. I’m considered an expert in football because I’ve never got into debt.
“The same applies to Juve. For them to bridge the gap with the biggest teams in Europe, they’ll need to go into debt because the others operate at €800-900m, while Juve operate at €400-450m.
“I already owe money to myself, from when I personally put in €180m in my first two years so we could return to Serie A.
“However, stepping up a level isn’t done just by putting in money but also by changing regulations.
“We’d need a new law establishing that clubs are joint-stock companies with the purpose of making profits.
“Instead we continue to think that fans are the owners. It’s an old mentality that I’ve always sensed in the air and it also made me get away from the Universiade [in Naples] yesterday, since I have to find someone else who is populist.”