Milan – A very tough attack, without filters, as is his style. Aurelio De Laurentiis does not mince words when describing the situation at the stadium. Naples and launches a heavy indictment against the Italian political class.
Speaking today, Friday, November 7, from the prestigious stage of the "Football Business Forum" organized at Bocconi University in Milan by La Gazzetta dello Sport and SDA Bocconi, the Napoli president used a colorful but brutal image to describe the Fuorigrotta stadium.
"Napoli's current stadium is a dump," De Laurentiis told the audience, further echoing criticism he's already voiced in the past.
The merciless comparison with PSG
The Napoli patron contextualized past attempts at improvement ("When Ancelotti came, we managed to fix a few things"), but immediately highlighted the gulf that separates Naples from other top European clubs, citing a specific case.
"Paris Saint-Germain pays the same amount that Napoli pays to the city," De Laurentiis explained, "but they have exclusive rights to the stadium, which generates more than €100 million a year."
Napoli's situation is diametrically opposed: "We pay the same amount to have the stadium the day before the event, during the match, clean it, and return it the next day." This management, according to the president, cripples any commercial development plan.
"Athletics track and ditch: a handicap"
The criticisms didn't stop at management, but also targeted the very structure of the facility named after the Argentine legend: "We have a stadium with an athletics track that isn't the best, with a moat that distances spectators even further."
These elements make the fan experience far from modern standards and, according to De Laurentiis, represent a competitive obstacle.
The thrust on politics
Finally, the most serious attack was reserved for the country's bureaucracy and ruling class. "We have a major handicap," thundered the Napoli president, "namely, 'Italian politics' [Italian politics, ed.] which, shamefully, have become football's greatest enemies."
A warning that also sounds like a political one: "If they understood that there are 25 million potential voters [the fans], perhaps these gentlemen would change their minds."
Comments (1)
De Laurentiis is right to complain about the state of the Naples stadium, and the comparisons with PSG are fair. However, I hope the political authorities do something to improve the fan experience, not just the chatter.