Rizzetta weighs a new Napoli bid of up to €1.6bn

The raised figure would still fall €400m short of what Aurelio De Laurentiis asked for. No new offer has been put on paper yet, and the president is about to sign for the land of the new training centre.

by Rosaria CimminoSaturday 31 October, 20:20 CET· 7 hours ago

Rizzetta pronto a rilanciare: per il Napoli si parla di 1,5-1,6 miliardi, fino a 300 milioni sopra la prima offerta — Grafica Arena Napoli

Matt Rizzetta is ready to try again. According to reports on Saturday 31 October, the founder of Underdog Global Partners, who already owns Napoli Basket, is considering a new offer for SSC Napoli of between €1.5bn and €1.6bn.

That is €200m to €300m more than his first bid of €1.3bn. For now, though, it is only an intention. No new offer has been made in writing.

Still a long way apart

To measure the raise, go back to March and the meeting with the club's leadership. There, the American fund offered €1.3bn plus an honorary presidency for Aurelio De Laurentiis. The president replied with a counter-offer: €2bn and a prominent role at the club. Underdog has been taking its time ever since.

Even at the top of the new range, €1.6bn, Rizzetta would still be €400m short of De Laurentiis's asking price. At €1.5bn the gap is €500m.

On Friday 30 October, in an interview with an American outlet, Rizzetta set a timeframe: "Talks with Napoli are ongoing. We won't go much beyond the start of 2027." We have already reported his plan B, which is to buy another club, move it and rename it. What is new is that the deadline may now come with a higher figure.

"Talks with Napoli are ongoing. We won't go much beyond the start of 2027."

This is where it gets complicated. Less than ten days ago De Laurentiis was blunt: "Napoli are not for sale." Then, on 27 and 28 October in Geneva, he met Gianluigi and Diego Aponte of MSC twice, and Gianluigi Aponte could take over the club's entire shareholding. Rizzetta is described as the only party with real interest, but two meetings with the Apontes in two days suggest otherwise. The president has more than one card in his hand, and he may not be showing all of them.

Qualiano and the price

Then there is the timing. Next week De Laurentiis is expected to complete the contracts for 13-14 hectares of land at Qualiano, the site of the new training centre. The plans include ten pitches, a mini-stadium holding about 2,000, residential quarters and the club's new headquarters. The deal adds value to Napoli.

The fact that the raised bid has surfaced just as the president is about to sign may be a coincidence. We find it hard to believe that De Laurentiis will lower his price in the same week the club's assets grow.

Before getting lost in billions and counter-offers, supporters should ask a simpler question. Rizzetta says he does not want to go much beyond the start of 2027. The winter window opens on 2 January and closes on 2 February, and the first target is Varela, for whom Monza want about €20m. If ownership is still unsettled in January, who signs the cheques, and with what time horizon in mind?

A long negotiation does not only weigh on the accounts. It also weighs on a team that is seventh with 14 points after nine games, and on a sporting director, Giovanni Manna, who has already spoken of "the end of a cycle".

We are neither for nor against a sale. What we ask is that the matter is not left half-done in the very weeks when the second half of the season has to be built. On Sunday 1 November Napoli visit Juventus at the Allianz Stadium, kick-off 20:45 CET (19:45 UK, 14:45 ET), with the two sides level on points. Whatever the club is worth, where it stands in the table matters too.