Napoli President De Laurentiis Responds To Fans' Complaints

Aurelio de Lurentiisgetty images

Serie A side Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis lamented fans "want me to spend billions of Euros" but do not pay for tickets or official merchandise, according to FOOTBALL ITALIA. The Partenopei owner took over the club after bankruptcy and led it back to Serie A, but despite that, he is "not universally popular with the fanbase." The situation has only been "exacerbated" by his purchase of Serie B side Bari, with some fans "fearing" he will be distracted. De Laurentiis said, "My dears, Bari are in the amateur leagues, I could hardly be distracted by Bari. ... As for Napoli, we're the only team that has been in Europe for each of the past nine seasons." He added, "In Naples they want me to spend billions of Euros for players to appear, but then they wear fake shirts and push the turnstiles to get in. They complain about De Laurentiis, but I complain about them" (FOOTBALL ITALIA, 8/15).