On July 23rd, S.S.C Napoli officially confirmed that the club’s all-time leading goal scorer, Dries Mertens, will not play for Napoli this season.
With each passing day, it seemed less and less likely that Mertens would sign a new contract. Many Napoli fans took to social media on Saturday to bid farewell to Mertens, after Carlo Alvino of Radio Kiss Kiss Napoli reported that, amongst other topics, De Laurentiis would confirm Mertens’ departure in their interview on Saturday evening.
The announcement drew an emotional reaction from Napoli fans all over the world, as you would expect with the departure of a club legend, let alone three club legends in a single summer (four if you count David Ospina).
Hatred for De Laurentiis appears to be at an all time high. The departure of the man nicknamed ‘Ciro’, a common Napoletano name, has only added fuel to the fire. The hashtag #A16 – a reference to the highway one would take to drive from Napoli to Bari, home of De Laurentiis’ other club – has grown in popularity.
But, regardless of your views on De Laurentiis, the reality is that he is still in charge until he is not. As fans, we must all accept that a club like Napoli, owned by one of the lowest net worth owners in all of Serie A, must operate in a financially sustainable way or risk failure, i.e. bankruptcy. There’s nothing wrong with wanting De Laurentiis to sell, but until he does, this is our reality.
The COVID-19 pandemic had devastating effects on most organizations around the world, including football clubs. According to Calcio e Finanza, Filmauro – the parent company of SSC Napoli SpA and SSC Bari SpA. – lost €100.7 million over the past two years.
Filmauro claims the decrease in revenue was “mainly attributable to the lower capital gains realized by the subsidiary SSC Napoli SpA (approximately €47 million).” In other words, the club’s financials are highly dependent on player sales, which were extremely difficult to execute during the pandemic.
Therefore, it should not be terribly surprising that De Laurentiis has sought to lower the club’s wage bill. Many weeks ago he openly proclaimed that he intended to lower the wage bill this summer. Like it or not, he has achieved that goal.
Between Kostas Manolas, Lorenzo Insigne, Faouzi Ghoulam, David Ospina, Kalidou Koulibaly and now Dries Mertens, De Laurentiis has reduced the wage bill by roughly €22.5 million net, or about €45 million gross.
Unfortunately, that means saying goodbye to our favourite players. In order, Koulibaly, Insigne and Mertens were the three highest paid players in the squad, along with Hirving Lozano and Victor Osimhen, who make as much as Mertens did. If it were up to fans, we would extend all three – we owed them that much – and perhaps they were right.
But as De Laurentiis told Radio Kiss Kiss, the same fans were doubtful when Napoli signed Cavani, Koulibaly and Mertens, and they all turned out to be top players. We’ve already seen positive signs from Georgian wonderkid Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
Leo Østigård is young and has massive upside for a player who was relatively inexpensive.
Kim Min-Jae, who could be a Napoli player in the coming days, is highly regarded by many. Fenerbahçe fans took to social media to convince Napoli that Kim’s not that great, desperately hoping to retain their giant South Korean. Ex-Napoli player and Süper Lig opponent of Kim, Gökhan Inler, described the central defender as a lion. Like Koulibaly, Kim is a family man; a man who’s heart and skin are already Napulitan.
Giovanni Simeone could replace Andrea Petagna, and if reports in the media are true, Napoli would be no worse off financially between the two transactions. Aside from the prospect of playing the Champions League, you can guess why Napoli might be an attractive destination for the Argentinian.
Finally, Napoli seem to have blocked Gerard Deulofeu for quite some time. However, his arrival depends on the sale of Adam Ounas and Udinese will not wait forever.
Without a doubt, our legends will be missed, both on and off the field, but the future certainly seems bright. Perhaps our reality isn’t so bad after all.
ADL certainly has his work cut out for him in this Summer mercato. I put my faith in the scouting as it has always found gems that became diamonds for the club. But he must succeed in his gamble and bring the fans a major trophy (Scudetto or Europe or Bust). It may not win back 100% approval from fans, but it will validate all his hard work.