Napoli president and owner Aurelio De Laurentiis says the club is “not for sale”, while adding that he would rather pass ownership to someone from Naples than to an American if he eventually decides to step aside.
De Laurentiis made the comments in an interview with Radio Kiss Kiss on Thursday, after Corriere dello Sport reported that he had met Matt Rizzetta, the Italian-American businessman who is the majority stakeholder in Napoli Basket.
Rizzetta held talks about buying a majority stake in Napoli several months ago, a proposal De Laurentiis confirmed in May. The latest meeting had therefore led to renewed speculation that the Serie A club could be sold.
“Napoli are not for sale,” De Laurentiis said, according to Sky Sport Italia.
He added that he had previously rejected a huge offer from investors based in the Middle East.
“The Arabs offered me €3.5 billion, but I didn’t want to retire,” he said. “I still know how to make movies, and football, which I knew nothing about. I learned it despite countless difficulties.”
De Laurentiis said Rizzetta first contacted him around a year ago and introduced him to investment funds interested in acquiring Napoli.
“About a year ago, I received a meeting request from Matt Rizzetta, whom I didn’t know. I replied out of courtesy. He introduced me to a couple of funds he represented that wanted to buy Napoli,” he said.
“This happened between February and March last year. We put their lawyers in touch with ours. We wanted to assess the proposal, including who was behind it, though we never actually began a due diligence process.
“They wanted to pay part of the €2 billion upon signing and the rest over the following three years. Initially, I was told I would continue running the club, gradually scaling back my role until I eventually became honorary president.
“I asked for guarantees that the work we had done over 22 years of running the business would continue. I felt a duty to Napoli fans around the world.
“Money matters, but it comes last. Matt Rizzetta told me he had two or three funds behind him, but the €2 billion would have come in over the years, rather than all at once.”
De Laurentiis confirmed he had met Rizzetta during the businessman’s recent stay in Naples.
“I’m happy to host him. He hosted me in America to watch a basketball game,” he said.
However, De Laurentiis dismissed the prospect of another immediate sale discussion and said his priority was the club’s stadium plans.
“When he brings up selling Napoli, I tell him not to get this soap opera going again,” he said. “I want to build the stadium, and that will require a huge commitment, physically, too.
“He probably would have been happy with the Maradona. With a new stadium elsewhere, it would be wonderful to turn the Maradona site into a large park full of greenery.”
De Laurentiis concluded: “For now, I haven’t decided to sell, but if I did, I would prefer to sell to someone from Naples rather than an American.
“We all know who we’re dealing with on our own home turf. If someone from Naples wanted to take over from me in two, three, or five years, that would be fine. I have worked for 22 years for wonderful people.”
In May, when he first disclosed that offers had been made for Napoli, De Laurentiis said: “The problem isn’t money. It’s whether a successor can lead with heart as well.”
