Diego Aponte, MSC president, named as possible Napoli buyer

The name surfaced after Aurelio De Laurentiis said he would sell to a Neapolitan rather than an American. The Napoli president insists he has not decided to sell, and there is no documented contact with the Aponte family.

by Rosaria CimminoMonday 26 October, 07:11 CET· 6 hours ago

Diego Aponte, 49 anni, presidente di MSC: è il nome che circola per il Napoli dopo De Laurentiis — Grafica Arena Napoli

The president's words were: "For the moment I have not decided to sell." He added that "if I had to sell, I would sell to a Neapolitan rather than an American, because everyone knows their own home, the people to deal with and the day-to-day." The search for a name began there, and one of those that emerged is Diego Aponte, president of MSC.

The word "Neapolitan" is less simple than it sounds. Aponte is 49 and was born in Switzerland. His father Gianluigi, born in Vico Equense, owns MSC, the Mediterranean Shipping Company. On 13 April Diego became owner of the company with his sister Alexa: he is president, she is Chief Financial Officer.

He came up through the business. A graduate in Maritime Studies, he joined MSC in 1997, first aboard ships as a junior engineer, then at MSC Ship Management in Sorrento and finally at the Geneva headquarters. In 2000 he founded Terminal Investment Limited S.A. (TiL), now one of the world's largest terminal operators, and he is its president. He is married to Elâ Soyuer, daughter of the Turkish port entrepreneur Ahmet Soyuer, lives in Geneva and has three children: Asia, Oscar and Maya.

Geneva is also the birthplace of Jacqueline Baudit, De Laurentiis's wife and the club's vice-president. A shared city is not a negotiation, and we do not present it as one. It is background, nothing more.

The reason the name is being floated is money. According to Forbes, the Aponte family fortune is between $75bn and $89bn, 44th among the world's billionaires. Napoli are reported to be up for sale at €2bn, with Matt Rizzetta's group stuck at €1.3bn and an earlier negotiation collapsed over timing and payment terms. In that context, real money is what counts.

The picture is still one of hypotheses. De Laurentiis has not decided to sell, and there is no documented contact with the Aponte family. Rizzetta, meanwhile, keeps pushing for Napoli.

The timing matters to supporters. Napoli are ninth with 11 points after 8 games, still carrying the 3-3 draw with Roma, and the defence keeps throwing away leads. Fans are asking whether the owner's mind is on the pitch or on the club's future. Nobody at the club has answered. Napoli play at Monza on Wednesday 28 October at 20:45 CET (19:45 UK, 14:45 ET). That match will show what the team thinks, not speculation about names.