Football news - Aurelio De Laurentiis accuses Maurizio Sarri of only being interested in money
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ByEurosport
Updated 11/10/2018 at 11:38 GMT
Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis has continued his war of words with former manager Maurizio Sarri, accusing him of only being interested in money.
Maurizio Sarri - Newcastle United-Chelsea - Premier League 2018/2019 - Getty Images
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Sarri, 59, managed Napoli for three years between 2015 and 2018 before leaving to take over at Premier League side Chelsea.
The move was drawn out due to negotiations on both sides and De Laurentiis has publicly criticised Sarri for the way he left.
And the out-spoken owner continued in a recent interview with Corriere dello Sport.
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SSC Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis and SSC Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri look on before the Serie A match between US Sassuolo Calcio and SSC Napoli at Mapei Stadium - Città del Tricolore on August 23, 2015 in Reggio nell'Emilia, Italy.
Image credit: Getty Images
"I thought I had met a coach who would stay at Napoli for a long time," De Laurentiis said of Sarri.
At a certain point it became a question linked exclusively to money.
"Suddenly, it was established by the media that his contract must be adjusted. So what is the value of an agreement just signed? We had already gone from €700,000 to €1.5 million euros.
"I also once heard him say that for his next contract, he wanted to get rich.
"Sarri's declarations of love for the city? I believed it, but then I wondered: 'What if he was using me as a bank?'"
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Chelsea's Italian head coach Maurizio Sarri gestures on the touchline
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Sarri’s place in the Napoli dugout was taken by former Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti and De Laurentiis spoke very highly of his new manager.
"Ancelotti was a date written in the football universe as if fate had decided it," De Laurentiis said.
"It took five minutes to get an agreement. The quickest negotiation of my fifteen years of football.
"With him, we have a human relationship. We discuss our mutual interests. And if I talk about football, he doesn't get offended.
"Before the match against Liverpool I called him in the morning. I expressed some opinions, politely, but also with authority.
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Ancelotti - Juventus-Napoli - Serie A 2018-2019
Image credit: Getty Images
"He told me: 'Don't worry, president, we will win'. I took it as his word and at the 87th-minute thought: 'Do you want to see what happens?' And then it happened.”
That late winner against Liverpool came courtesy of local boy Lorenzo Insigne, who has started the season in fine form.
"Insigne? He hasn't surprised me. He's a product of Napoli and Naples, a complicated city where it's more difficult than elsewhere to be a prophet in your homeland.” De Laurentiis added.
"He (Insigne) proved to be a man.”
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