Transfer Centre

Napoli president plays down talk of Edinson Cavani return

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 20 July 2018

Napoli president plays down Cavani links

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis does not expect Edinson Cavani to take a huge pay cut in order to join from Paris Saint-Germain.

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has seemingly ruled out a return to the club for Paris Saint-Germain striker Edinson Cavani.

The Uruguay international was recently linked with a move back to the Stadio San Paolo, five years after leaving for the French capital.

Cavani has maintained his impressive strike rate since swapping divisions, scoring a further 28 goals in Ligue 1 alone last season, and Di Laurentiis does not expect the striker to be easily prised away from PSG.

"Cavani? He earns €20m gross every two months. He's brilliant, but I don't think he'll halve his salary," he told Radio Kiss Kiss Napoli. "If Cavani were to call me and tell me he's ok to cut his salary in half and fit the Napoli wage structure, great.

"Qatar is behind Paris Saint-Germain, they seek to get rich in real estate so they have to keep the politicians. But I decided to treat football the way I treat making films."

PSG paid a then-record Ligue 1 fee of £55.6m to sign Cavani from Napoli in 2013.