Napoli’s president and owner, Aurelio de Laurentiis, has long been known as a strong-willed leader. The 76-year-old has once again lived up to his reputation by refusing to sell his “baby.”
According to the always well-informed Corriere dello Sport, SSC Napoli recently received a purchase offer amounting to a whopping two billion euros. A staggering sum that, in the best-case scenario, could elevate the four-time Italian champions (most recently in 2023 under coach Luciano Spalletti and in 2025 under Antonio Conte) to a new level, complete with better infrastructure. After all, the former San Paolo Stadium—now named after the club’s greatest legend, Diego Armando Maradona—is a relic of Italy’s stadium landscape (in operation since 1959 and renovated several times). And it has even been derided as a “toilet” by President Aurelio de Laurentiis himself.
However, de Laurentiis—who bought the club with his own fortune in 2004 for just over 30 million euros and immediately re-established it following financial problems—rejected the current takeover offer.
The 100th anniversary—with coach Allegri?
The 76-year-old film producer therefore does not want to sell his club and intends to keep the reins of power firmly in his own hands. A group led by Matt Rizzetta—president of the Serie C club Campobasso and Napoli Basket, as well as founder and managing partner of the private equity firm Underdog Global Partners—has thus come up empty-handed.
Negotiations regarding a proposed deal had taken place—but they simply did not lead to a conclusion.
This is also because, according to the Corriere, owner de Laurentiis is said to be keen on leading the club under his own stewardship during its upcoming 100th anniversary in 2027.
It remains unclear who will lead the team into the upcoming season and the big anniversary celebration. Current manager Conte—who has been in office since 2024—has been linked to the national team coaching position for the Squadra Azzurra, partly due to his own statements (“If I were the head of the federation, I would consider myself for the role”). Conte is said to have already personally informed President de Laurentiis of his intention to leave, with no severance pay agreed upon. Meanwhile, Milan returnee Massimiliano Allegri is a strong contender to replace him in Campania.
