Former Napoli sporting director Mauro Meluso says club president Aurelio De Laurentiis was right to reject a reported €200 million joint offer from Paris Saint Germain for Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in 2023.
Speaking on Radio Kiss Kiss Napoli, Meluso explained that De Laurentiis did not want to weaken the squad immediately after winning the Scudetto and felt that selling both star forwards at once would have sent the wrong message to the dressing room and fans.
“Should Osimhen and Kvara have been sold together to PSG immediately after their third Scudetto? At that point, De Laurentiis didn’t want to weaken Napoli,” he said, insisting the decision was taken for the good of the club rather than purely financial reasons.
Meluso admitted that, with hindsight, some might argue the sale should have gone through, but maintained that offloading both players right after the title win — and following the departures of coach Luciano Spalletti and sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli — would have created the impression that Napoli were dismantling a championship team.
“He refused for the good of Napoli, but there are some things that go well and others that don’t,” the former director added, suggesting that while subsequent results may not have matched expectations, the president’s stance was understandable at the time.
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