How McTominay Became A Napoli Icon After Man Utd Exit

Scott McTominay was already a hero at Napoli after a season plundering goals – but as he collapsed to the ground in tears of joy after helping them to the Serie A title, he cemented his place as a legend of the club.

McTominay hooked in a fine acrobatic volley – his 12th goal of the season – to give Napoli the lead against Cagliari, before former Manchester United team-mate Romelu Lukaku made the game safe with a second.

That home win ensured they held off Champions League finalists Inter Milan to claim their fourth Serie A title.

As soon after the final whistle went, the Scotland midfielder was named Serie A’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) for 2024-25.

“I’m lost for words. It’s incredible you know, the sacrifice that every single player in the group has put forward to the cause,” said McTominay after the game.

“And the people deserve it because they’ve been behind us from day one, and for me to come and experience this is a dream.”

Leaving United – the club where he had spent nearly all his life – for a new country last summer was a brave move. It now looks an inspired decision.

There have been tattoos, flags, cakes and even a shrine of McTominay. Fans wearing kilts too. Naples is a city that treats their heroes like gods – most notably Diego Maradona.

BBC Sport looks at how McTominay carved his name in Napoli folkore.

Scott McTominay has enjoyed the support of the Napoli fans all season

The one who got away for Man Utd

Last summer McTominay wanted a change of scenery – and United wanted money to help them fit in with the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR).

The Lancaster-born player had been with United for over 20 years – first attending a soccer school at the club aged five – but made the decision to have a change of scenery.

A fee of £25.7m looks like an absolute bargain now.

No wonder his former boss at Old Trafford, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, recently told BBC Sport “how you can sell Scott is beyond me”.

And as he celebrates the title with Napoli, United are facing their worst season since the mid-1970s and a second campaign without Europe since 1985.

“He looks like he is loving life,” said ex-Scotland midfielder Don Hutchison on TNT Sports.

“A lot of backroom staff at Manchester United can be proud of how they turned him into this.

“The player has been there for four or five years, but it is going to Napoli and having the confidence of the manager that has taken him up tenfold.”

And yet the Napoli move nearly did not happen. They were set to sign Frosinone midfielder Marco Brescianini and he was even having a medical.

But that move didn’t happen – and suddenly McTominay was at Napoli instead and Brescianini went to Atalanta.

A sliding-doors moment for Napoli and McTominay.

How Conte got the best out of ‘raider’ McTominay

McTominay has scored 12 goals in 34 Serie A games for Napoli – netting another one in the Coppa Italia.

He was the Serie A player of the month for April and is shortlisted again for May. Now he is the MVP, effectively the player of the season.

McTominay is the top-scoring midfielder in Serie A this season. By comparison, he only bagged 19 goals in 178 Premier League games for United.

The success comes from playing more of an attacking central midfield role in Conte’s team. In a lot of his time for United, he played as a defensive midfielder. For Scotland he actually started as a defender in a back three.

“Conte changed his system to put him in the best conditions to play,” said Naples journalist Vincenzo Credendino.

“In the system of Conte he’s not a builder, he’s a raider – the best option while you have a number nine like Romelu Lukaku, who today plays – and builds – a lot for the team.”

McTominay ranks near the top for midfielders to touch the ball in the opposition penalty area, and for duels won in Serie A.

He also took on a leadership role on Friday, pulling team-mate Amir Rrahmani away from a potential argument in the first half.

Credendino added: “You can compare McTominay with the big midfielders of Conte’s history. In his first years at Juventus (2011-12 and 2012-13), Claudio Marchisio and Arturo Vidal scored nine and 10 goals respectively.

“It’s not a coincidence. McTominay is perfect for Conte as Conte is perfect for McTominay.”

Why do the fans love him?

Naples is a one-club city, yet with only a handful of pockets of real success in their history. They really idolise their heroes, most notably Maradona – who was part of their first two title wins – and whom their stadium is now named after.

McTominay will never reach those levels – nobody could – but he is still adored as much as a mere mortal can be.

McFratm – which roughly translates as McBro in Neapolitan slang – is his favourite nickname. But he has also been called McTerminator, MacGyver and apribottiglie (the bottle opener). Eight of his 12 goals have come with the score at 0-0.

“I saw the passionate fans, I saw the coach, I saw the players and I saw an opportunity,” McTominay told BBC Scotland in December.

“I took it, I didn’t look back. It didn’t take me long to make the decision because I knew that was what I wanted and I’ll never have any regrets in my life. As soon as I put my mind to something I want to do it, that’s it. There’s no holding me back.

“I love this place, I love the fans, I love my team-mates.”

San Ciro’s restaurant in Edinburgh have a Scotland flag up with the words ‘Napoli. McTominay. Pizza. In that order’.

That says a lot for a pizza restaurant.

Brothers Ciro and Santo Sartore, who were born and raised in Scotland to Neapolitan parents, run the restaurant together.

About McTominay’s popularity, Ciro said: “In my opinion, it’s because of how well he has taken to Napoli.

“Napoli fans love when a player commits to the city, and him kissing the Napoli badge shows how much the love and appreciation means to him. Obviously, scoring a lot of goals helps too.”

A shrine emerged to McTominay in San Nicola a Nilo this month.

“Napoli fans could not be happier – he is the symbol of the attitude of this Napoli, with his intensity and sacrifice in every game,” added journalist Credendino.

“This is something the fans appreciate a lot, as they liked his kiss on the shirt in the match against Palermo in September and the fact he is learning Italian and even Neapolitan.”

And another way to make himself popular with Napoli and Italian fans? Praising their tomatoes.

McTominay told the Athletic, external recently: “Oh my goodness, the tomatoes. I never ate them at home, they’re just red water.

“Here, they actually taste like tomatoes. Now I eat them as a snack. I eat all the vegetables, all of the fruits. It is all so fresh. It’s incredible.”

A good season for Scots in Italy
Before this season no Scot had ever won the Serie A title.

Now there are two – because last summer McTominay was not the only Scotland midfielder they signed. His friend Billy Gilmour also came in, from Brighton, and has also played a key role in their success.

And they are not the only players from Scotland to lift a major trophy in Italy this season. Bologna, who beat AC Milan in the Coppa Italia final, are captained by Lewis Ferguson. Graeme Souness had been the only previous Scottish winner of the Italian Cup.

Bbc.com