«Osimhen? I never sell it. Spalletti? There is a contract»- Corriere.it

Aurelio De Laurentiis has taken his stage, far from the heart of the sports festival, far from Luciano Spalletti and the protagonists of the third Napoli championship. The president chose the people, he wanted the embrace of the fans in the center of the Maradona stadium, he spoke to them from the heart: “I want to win again, I want the Champions League with Luciano”. A letter sent 850 kilometers away, which arrived on Thursday evening in the midst of the celebration on the Udine field, where the shirts fly through the air, the players’ sweat expresses in a tangible way the fatigue of a season which culminated with the event which marks the club history. Under the spotlights, Spalletti embraces his crowd: he dedicates the victory to his brother Marcello, who died four years ago, he squeezes the protagonists of the “battle” tightly, very tightly, he lets himself be overwhelmed by emotion and remains clinging to the team manager Giuseppe Santorowho in these two years has also become his trusted man and reference in the locker room, who in Naples grew up working his way up and then a career, left for other experiences in Italy and the Premier League and then returned to Naples, at the same time as Luciano, to win

Spalletti and De Laurentiis, each with their own party, united by an existing contract for another year (the blue patron has already exercised the option for renewal and wants it to be respected), waiting for a face-to-face. They didn’t quarrel, but while Aurelio swears love to him under the sky of Naples, Lucio in the bedlam of Udine sends back to the sender: «he must tell me, not the others». «There is a contract – Bruno Vespa’s guest Adl replies again – and then there is a word given. Luciano is a hero in love with Naples, he said so». Sparks, in the distance. Spalletti wants «love» to be in the expression in the eyes of the club owner (“I refused 1 billion, plus 2.5 for the group”) than in the emotional post-victory voice or in front of the Rai cameras. Because at the basis of a restart there must be a project, reconfirming can be more difficult than winning, and the team to start with must be at least as strong as the one that swept the championship. And he’s not sure about it.

Spalletti returned from Udine in the early afternoon yesterday, the angular (fake) man takes selfies with the children who have been waiting for him for hours in Castel Volturno, smiles perhaps even more than on the night of triumph and, having metabolized the effect (« fleeting») of happiness, gives satisfaction to the people who supported him, who defended him when Naples got in the way. Aurelio has a full agenda, he moved from Naples to Milan for the Lega assembly, then returned for another evening of family celebration. Always on the spot, however: planning and researching new functional pieces for his club (if Giuntoli were to sell to Juve, for example?). The window on the transfer market is always open – he often repeats – and one has to be prepared for indecent offers. They could come for Osimhen, courted by half of Europe (“I’ll never sell him”, however ADL promises), for Kim who has a contract with a clause. Spalletti is a fixed point. «Contract», insists the patron. Report, the coach wants. See each other, talk to each other. Decide. It hasn’t happened in a while.