Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis struggled to hold back the tears during a press conference on Thursday.
The Partenopei owner spoke to the media to present a new club sponsor. On Wednesday, the Partenopei had celebrated the 20th anniversary of De Laurentiis’ presidency at the Stadio Maradona.
ADL acquired the club after it went bankrupt in 2004, bringing it to the summit of Italian football from Serie C.
Today, De Laurentiis struggled to hold back the tears while discussing Napoli’s future targets on and off the pitch.
“It must be clear to everyone that Napoli won’t accept any compromise. We’ve never been and we’ll never be blackmailable, also to defend our players,” he said.
De Laurentiis had to stop reading his message to hold back the tears and was cheered by the crowd’s applause.
“Some situations hurt them and our fans worldwide. Our biggest pride was to win by respecting the rules and the people,” he continued.
“We will continue competing with these principles. Twenty years ago, I said that my first target was to relaunch the city of Naples also through football. Today, Naples has gained global attention thanks to our support as well. The future of a free, sustainable and innovative football must start from Naples.”
