Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has launched another broadside on former manager Maurizio Sarri, suggesting he has a temperamental personality.
Sarri, 59, was at the Stadio San Paolo helm for three seasons between 2015 and 2018 before leaving for Chelsea in the summer.
What has De Laurentiis previously said about Sarri? Five things to know…
- The Italian club’s supremo is no stranger to speaking out in public.
- After Sarri’s departure to Chelsea he condemned the tactician for not winning any silverware.
- De Laurentiis also criticised Sarri for wanting “to take my whole team to England” after the Blues signed Jorginho this summer.
- Sarri broke Partenopei’s points record twice during his three seasons, accumulating 91 points last term.
- However, the pair fell out in acrimonious fashion and have been at loggerheads since.
De Laurentiis’ latest verbal assault came during a discussion set up by Naples publication Il Corriere di Mezzogiorno in which the Italian was asked to compare managers.
The president and film producer claims he employed Sarri despite protestations against installing him as the new head coach of the club.
“I chose Sarri against everyone’s advice. At the time, the city was covered in banners protesting my decision,” insisted De Laurentiis (via Football Italia).
“He had a way of making himself adored even by the most extreme fringes of the fanbase. He’s an individualist, someone who suffered in the lower leagues on pitches with no grass and the odd stone. He’d also suffer because he tended to be fired after six games.
“Then he had that run from Serie C to Serie A with Empoli and when we lost 4-2 against him, I thought he might be the right man for us.
“I had also wanted Mihajlovic, but he didn’t convince me, as he was too energetic and forced the players to follow him.
“On the other hand, Sarri seemed timid and I discovered he was so dissatisfied with his past (working in finance). For a Communist to base his profession on the evils of money brought him to suffer from a syndrome of dissatisfaction.
“I found Sarri to be very highly-strung. His wife couldn’t even come to the stadium. I used to say to Sarri, who shall we buy? He’d reply that he didn’t want to know anything about it.”
De Laurentiis: Man Utd offered £95m for Kalidou Koulibaly
Among other topics on discussion, De Laurentiis also shed light on some of the club’s latest transfer dealings, revealing that Man Utd tabled an offer of £95m for defender Kalidou Koulibaly.
The Red Devils were reportedly in hot pursuit of a centre-back this summer, with former manager Jose Mourinho making no secret of his desire to bolster his defensive options.
A host of names were linked with a move to Old Trafford, and Koulibaly was firmly among them, but any proposed transfer failed to materialise and Mourinho, as a result of poor form, was relieved of his managerial duties on Tuesday.
“We are more than capable of developing top players and keeping them too,” the President told reporters at the Corriere del Mezzogiorno panel.
“When they offer £95m for a centre-back, that is a figure that has never been offered before, it means this is a top player.”
It is believed that Mourinho’s fractious relationship with chief executive Ed Woodward stemmed from a reluctance from the board to sanction significant funds to sign a centre-back.
The post Sarri is too “highly-strung” admits Napoli president appeared first on Squawka News.
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