Napoli patron Aurelio De Laurentiis discussed rejecting Arturo Vidal, doubting Maurizio Sarri and suing Chelsea for Kalidou Koulibaly.
The President spoke to La Repubblica and the Corriere dello Sport newspapers, but in his usual style did not hold back.
“It was my decision to turn down Vidal in 2011. We had to decide between him and Gokhan Inler, a buy that I absolutely do not regret, but at the time my knowledge of football was rather superficial.
Napoli patron Aurelio De Laurentiis discussed rejecting Arturo Vidal, doubting Maurizio Sarri and suing Chelsea for Kalidou Koulibaly.
The President spoke to La Repubblica and the Corriere dello Sport newspapers, but in his usual style did not hold back.
“It was my decision to turn down Vidal in 2011. We had to decide between him and Gokhan Inler, a buy that I absolutely do not regret, but at the time my knowledge of football was rather superficial.
“If I had known more, for example that within the same role we could have players with different characteristics, I’d have signed both of them.”
The Partenopei were in the Scudetto hunt for most of the season under new Coach Sarri and qualified for the Champions League group phase.
“I chose Sarri after meeting him. I still remember what he said to me: President, we’ll lose the first seven games. I laughed and he smiled, so there our understanding was forged.
“I always defended him. Unfortunately there is this ugly habit in football of thinking everyone wins and only I am to blame when we lose.”
What does De Laurentiis think of Sarri’s refusal to wear a suit on the touchline?
“I have to thank him, as he gives more visibility to our sponsors. Plus I didn’t have to teach him how to put on a tie.
“What I would like is for Sarri and Manolo Gabbiadini to get in sync. They are two good people.”
There were no such kind words for Koulibaly, who infuriated De Laurentiis and Napoli fans this week with his comments pushing for a transfer.
“I had thought Koulibaly was a good man. The moment I realise you and your agent haven’t read the contracts properly before signing them, I cannot tolerate that.
“Napoli were about to sign new commercial deals to use Koulibaly’s image, but his statements cancelled those opportunities. His jersey cannot be sold now.
“He created damages worth millions of Euros and I have specialists studying the issue now. I would hate for Koulibaly to work for life in order to make up for this.
“I’m disappointed he didn’t just call me and ask if Napoli intended to sell Koulibaly or not. I don’t bother other clubs, approaching their players who are under contract.
“If we discovered that Chelsea were behind this, then we could sue them for damages too. Koulibaly is 24 years old, he is not a kid. We stood by him when he was jeered in his first season.
“Out of respect for the club and Sarri, he should not have made those statements. Apologising to the fans is not enough. He will continue working for us for the three years on his contract and maybe many more until he’s paid off the damages to Napoli.”