Aurelio De Laurentiis: 'Maurizio Sarri tried to dismantle Napoli'

By Barney Corkhill, Editor | 22 July 2018

De Laurentiis: 'Sarri tried to dismantle Napoli'

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis claims that Maurizio Sarri tried to "dismantle" the club by signing a number of his former players for new team Chelsea.

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has accused former manager Maurizio Sarri of trying to "dismantle" the team by signing a number of players for new club Chelsea.

Sarri's protracted move to Stamford Bridge was completed earlier this month, and he was quickly followed to West London by Jorginho.

De Laurentiis confirmed that new boss Carlo Ancelotti sanctioned the sale of Jorginho, but also revealed that Sarri was eager to sign a number of other Napoli players following his departure.

"He wanted to take my whole team to England and dismantle it. I had to lay down the law to Marina [Granovskaia, Chelsea director]," De Laurentiis told Sky Sports Italia.

"He wanted Jorginho and I gave him away after I talked to Ancelotti, who told me he was banking a lot on [Amadou] Diawara and that he wanted to play [Marek] Hamsik deeper."

Sarri, who spent three years with Napoli, will take charge of his first competitive match as Chelsea boss on August 5 when they face Manchester City in the Community Shield.