ESPN FC's Gab Marcotti explains what led to Carlo Ancelotti's appointment as Napoli head coach. New Napoli boss Carlo Ancelotti says Italian football will be highly enriched with Cristiano Ronaldo joining Juventus. Stewart Robson delves into how Maurizio Sarri transformed Napoli and what he'll need to do to replicate a similar turnaround at Stamford Bridge. ESPN FC's Shaka Hislop breaks down the latest rumours making the rounds in Transfer Rater, involving Jasper Cillessen, Thibaut Courtois and more. Napoli chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis says highly sought after Jorginho will be joining Chelsea after recently reaching an agreement with the club.
Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has rubbished reports Edinson Cavani could return to his side, and said reported interest in Radamel Falcao as "totally false."
The Serie A club are being linked with a big-name transfer this summer in the aftermath of Juventus signing Cristiano Ronaldo, but De Laurentiis says the current rumours doing the rounds could not be further off the mark.
Particularly in the case of Cavani, who played for Napoli between 2010 and 2013, De Laurentiis said his club simply could not -- or rather would not -- afford his salary.
"It's bogus -- I've always said that Cavani is somebody who earns a lot," he told Naples radio station Radio Kiss Kiss. "He's a player who gets €10 million gross every 10 months -- I don't think he could decide to reduce his wages towards the end of his career.
"As I've said, if he calls me and says he'll slash his wages to adapt to our financial means... but there's a whole state behind Paris Saint-Germain, in the form of Qatar. I decided to manage football the way I produce films."
De Laurentiis also strongly denied reports linking Napoli with Falcao, and that their transfer approach has been agreed with coach Carlo Ancelotti.
"[The reports are] totally false -- not just false, but totally false. I'm amazed how some journalists who have had long careers can write such things," he said. "Between me and [coach Carlo] Ancelotti, we've said many times that we agree we will sign young players. [Angel] Di Maria and Karim Benzema are old, so what am I meant to do?
"Fans enjoy talking about and playing football in bars and I respect them, but they've got to let us work calmly."
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Source: espn.co.uk