Naples –
Napoli received strong protests from supporters for releasing many star players this summer. President Aurelio De Laurentiis insisted this was done for the future of the club.
Lorenzo Insigne, David Ospina and Dries Mertens were released free of charge because their contracts were not renewed. Meanwhile, Kalidou Koulibaly was successfully sold to Chelsea at an expensive price for a 31-year-old player, which is 40 million Euros.
Plus Arkadiusz Milik who was made permanent by Marseille this summer but hasn’t played for Napoli since January last year, five senior players have been left out of the squad. This looks like a decline in the quality of the team.
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No wonder the fans are angry. Of Lawrence have to accept insults when meeting fans Napoli on the street, and his name was booed in the club’s pre-season training. But the 73-year-old film producer remains confident in his stance.
He can no longer pay the players above with expensive salaries. If you are not willing to accept a reduction in wages in the new contract, please leave. Napoli will rebuild the team with young players.
“I feel the love that is poured out for the club, but I must not forget that football is not only about passion, it is also an industry,” De Laurentiis told Radio Kiss Kiss, quoted by Football Italia.
“Unfortunately, sometimes it also means going against what the fans want. When they asked why not keep Mertens, I said that Mertens offered to continue for another season, because he knew he was 35 years old and would soon retire.”
“If he wants money (which is a lot), then I have to say no. If I have to pay a disproportionate salary to Mertens, it will take money from next season’s budget, which is needed to recruit young players.”
Of Lawrence claimed to have offered a gross salary of 4 million euros per season to Mertens to stay at Napoli, however it means a decrease from his last season which earned a net salary of 4.5 million Euros. The Belgian striker refused.
A proposal with a salary reduction was also made to Insigne, who was also rejected and opted to move to Toronto FC. Only Koulibaly was given a raise by Napoli, but the Senegal defender asked for a move to Chelsea, so De Laurentiis couldn’t stop him.
Ospina is also called Of Lawrence moved to Saudi Arabia to defend Al-Nassr because he was influenced by a large salary increase. As for Milik already frozen for half a season by Napoli before being released for refusing a new contract.
(adp/aff)
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