On Tuesday, SSC Bari officially announced the signing of Michael Folorunsho on loan from SSC Napoli. Folorunsho played for Bari in 2019/20, also on loan from Napoli, after the Azzurri acquired the midfielder from Virtus Francavilla.
The 24 year old will play his third consecutive season in Serie B after failing to break into Napoli’s first team yet again.
Folorunsho’s most productive campaign was in 2020/21, when he scored 6 goals and added 3 assists in 30 appearances for Reggina. He returned to Reggina for the second half of the 2021/22 campaign after Pordenone failed to secure the Roman’s services on a permanent basis.
The transfer happened while Napoli President, Aurelio De Laurentiis, and his son and Bari President, Luigi De Laurentiis, were appealing the update to Article 16 of the Internal Organizational Standards of the F.I.G.C.
According to Article 16, the same person, their spouse or their relatives (up to the fourth degree) is prohibited from investing, managing or controlling, directly or indirectly, more than one company in the same sector.
At the time, De Laurentiis family were appealing to CONI, after their appeals to the Federal National Court and the FIFA Federal Court of Appeal were both rejected. However, on Thursday the F.I.G.C. extended the Article 16 deadline to the start of the 2028/89 campaign. The De Laurentiis family subsequently renounced their appeal.
