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Chelsea news: ‘Money driven’ Maurizio Sarri receives stinging attack from Napoli president
CHELSEA manager Maurizio Sarri’s acrimonious departure from Napoli has taken a fresh twist after he was accused of only wanting to get rich by president Aurelio De Laurentiis.
What to expect from former Napoli manager Maurizio Sarri
Sarri spent three seasons at Napoli, turning them into Serie A title contenders and playing an attractive brand of football.
But his time ended in the summer when Chelsea came calling and hired him to replace Antonio Conte.
And Sarri has made an impressive start to life in English football with Chelsea level on points with Manchester City and Liverpool at the top of the Premier League.
However, De Laurentiis still appears to harbour some ill-feeling towards Sarri.
And in an interview with Italian publication Corriere dello Sport, the Napoli chief hit out at Sarri.
"Sarri? I thought I had met a coach who would stay at Napoli for a long time," De Laurentiis said.
"At a certain point, it became a question linked exclusively to money.
"Suddenly, it was established by the media that his contract must be adjusted.
"So what is the value of an agreement just signed? We had already gone from €700,000 to €1.5million.
"I also once heard him say that for his next contract, he wanted to get rich.
"Sarri's declarations of love for the city?
"I believed it, but then I wondered: 'What if he was using me as a bank?'"
In August, Sarri defended his record at Napoli despite failing to win a trophy in his time.
“We didn’t win in Naples but we had the record number of points for the club,” he said.
“We qualified three times for the Champions League and it was unusual for Napoli.
“So I think we did very well. Nobody won in Italy except Juventus in the last seven years.”