Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis admits he could have sold Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Victor Osimhen when PSG offered more than €200m for the pair: ‘The idea was to sign Viktor Gyokeres.’
Napoli owner De Laurentiis admits PSG had offered more than €200m to sign former Partenopei stars Kvaratskhelia and Osimhen.
The Georgian winger ultimately joined the Ligue 1 giants this past January for €75m, while Osimhen completed a permanent move to Galatasaray for the same fee earlier this summer.
Osimhen had already spent one season on loan with the Turkish giants.
Napoli should have sold Osimhen and Kvara to PSG, De Laurentiis admits
“I had to let him [Kvara] go because his agent was threatening to use Article 17,” ADL told 7 Corriere della Sera via Di Marzio.
“After the Georgian’s extraordinary first season, we immediately moved to negotiate a contract extension, increasing his salary and offering him a significant sum.
“However, his agent, Mamuka Jugeli, had other plans for himself and the player,” De Laurentiis continued.
“At the end of the second contractual year, there was the European Championship in Germany. I flew to Düsseldorf with Manna and Chiavelli to resolve the situation, but Mamuka kept stalling, claiming that Giuntoli had promised money that was never paid.
“It was a lie, easy to disprove. I could have sold him at that moment. PSG had offered over 200m for the Kvara and Osimhen package.
Napoli wanted to sign Gyokeres in 2024
“However, I had promised Conte I would keep him, and I didn’t feel like going back on my word. With those funds, the idea was to buy Gyokeres.”
Kvara and Osimhen greatly contributed to Napoli’s first Serie A title in 33 years in 2022-23 under Luciano Spalletti.
The Nigerian forward was the top Serie A goalscorer that season, while the Georgian winger was named the league’s MVP.
The Partenopei won their second Scudetto in three years last term without Osimhen, while Kvaratskhelia only spent the first part of the season at the Stadio Maradona.
Football-italia.net
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