De Laurentiis: 'Napoli are not for sale' as he rejects €3.5bn Arab bid and plays down Rizzetta talks
Aurelio De Laurentiis has moved to end a fresh round of speculation over the ownership of Napoli, declaring the Serie A club is “not for sale” — while making clear that, if he ever did sell, he would rather hand the club to a buyer from Naples than to an American.
The Napoli president addressed the issue on Thursday in an interview with Radio Kiss Kiss, carried by Sky Sport Italia, after Corriere dello Sport reported that he had met once more with Matt Rizzetta, an Italian-American businessman and majority stakeholder in Napoli Basket.
‘Napoli are not for sale’
De Laurentiis did not mince his words when asked about the prospect of a sale, and used the opportunity to disclose a bid he said he had previously waved away.
“Napoli are not for sale,” he said. “The Arabs offered me €3.5 billion, but I didn’t want to retire. I still know how to make movies, and football, which I knew nothing about. I learned it despite countless difficulties.”
The Rizzetta talks and the €2 billion proposal
The speculation was reignited by Rizzetta’s presence in Naples in recent days. De Laurentiis confirmed the two had met, but stressed the contact was long-standing and that no sale process had ever truly begun.
“About a year ago, I received a meeting request from Matt Rizzetta, whom I didn’t know. I replied out of courtesy. He introduced me to a couple of funds he represented that wanted to buy Napoli,” De Laurentiis said. “This happened between February and March last year. We put their lawyers in touch with ours. We wanted to assess the proposal, including who was behind it, though we never actually began a due diligence process.”
He explained the structure of the offer and his concerns about it: “They wanted to pay part of the €2 billion upon signing and the rest over the following three years. Initially, I was told I would continue running the club, gradually scaling back my role until I eventually became honorary president. I asked for guarantees that the work we had done over 22 years of running the business would continue. I felt a duty to Napoli fans around the world.”
The Napoli owner added: “Money matters, but it comes last. Matt Rizzetta told me he had two or three funds behind him, but the €2 billion would have come in over the years, rather than all at once.”
‘Don’t get this soap opera going again’
Addressing the latest meeting, De Laurentiis insisted he was happy to host Rizzetta but had warned him against fuelling another transfer saga.
“I’m happy to host him. He hosted me in America to watch a basketball game,” De Laurentiis said. “When he brings up selling Napoli, I tell him not to get this soap opera going again. I want to build the stadium, and that will require a huge commitment, physically, too. He probably would have been happy with the Maradona. With a new stadium elsewhere, it would be wonderful to turn the Maradona site into a large park full of greenery.”
A preference for a Neapolitan successor
Looking to the future, De Laurentiis said any eventual handover would be shaped by trust and local ties rather than money alone.
“For now, I haven’t decided to sell, but if I did, I would prefer to sell to someone from Naples rather than an American,” he concluded. “We all know who we’re dealing with on our own home turf. If someone from Naples wanted to take over from me in two, three, or five years, that would be fine. I have worked for 22 years for wonderful people.”
The stance echoes comments De Laurentiis made this past May, when he first revealed he had received offers to buy the club, saying at the time: “The problem isn’t money. It’s whether a successor can lead with heart as well.”