De Laurentiis opens door to selling Napoli, but sets a condition

Speaking after Napoli's Gold Collar award at CONI, Italy's Olympic committee, the president set out what any buyer would need to show. He also gave his verdict on Allegri and on Kevin De Bruyne's form.

by Rosaria CimminoTuesday 13 October, 11:09 CET· 2 hours ago

De Laurentiis apre alla cessione: «Chi paga i miei 25 anni di sforzi si faccia avanti» — Grafica Arena Napoli

"Is there someone capable of paying for my quarter of a century of work? I don't know, but if there is, they should step forward, then we will check and assess." Aurelio De Laurentiis chose Italian broadcaster TG5, straight after the CONI ceremony in Rome where Napoli received the Gold Collar for Sporting Merit marking the club's centenary, to return to the touchiest subject of his time in charge: a possible sale of SSC Napoli.

It is not the first time this door has opened. A consortium led by the fund Underdog Global Partners reportedly offered €2.1bn after eight months of private talks, and the De Laurentiis family reportedly wanted to accept. He said no then, and in Tuesday's interview he repeated the same logic: whoever came forward would first be asked what guarantees they could give supporters that his project would continue.

The weight of 25 years and the Napoli name

The president laid claim to a longer story: 25 years since his first interest in the club, when he failed to buy it with his opening offer and had to wait for its 2004 bankruptcy to take over.

"When I arrived, Napoli no longer existed. I took a name from the ashes, and I could have called it Partenope. Out of respect for Neapolitans and the great Maradona, I kept calling it Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli."

That is how he tied any sale not to a price but to a guarantee of continuity.

On the pitch, De Laurentiis backed the head coach appointed after Antonio Conte left at the end of last season: "Allegri is a great protector of the dressing room, he knows how to manage all the players well, with him everything works perfectly." The comment lands as the fanbase keeps questioning the team's football — Napoli are eighth with 10 points after six matchdays — with the president publicly shielding the bench while discontent has shown up more on social media and in banners than in criticism of his tactics.

The point on De Bruyne came two days after his decisive double against Frosinone, sealed by a 94th-minute goal assisted by Giovane: "Confidence in football comes from the game itself, from your fans. He built himself up in Belgium, had some very successful matches, and we've benefited from that form too." The words fit with news that emerged on Monday 12 October that the club is weighing up activating the option to extend the Belgian's contract, due to expire on 30 June 2027, to 2028.

The underlying issue supporters have pushed for weeks remains unresolved. De Laurentiis is talking about a sale in the same days that fans dedicated banners against him after the draw in Florence, and he does it with the same ambiguity as ever — open in principle, with conditions that stay his to set. The next verdict comes on Tuesday evening at 21:00 CET (20:00 UK, 15:00 ET) at the Estadio de la Cerámica, where Napoli look for a response after their Champions League opening defeat to Arsenal.