Napoli captain and Italian international Lorenzo Insigne has unleashed a scathing attack on former manager Maurizio Sarri after the latter’s exit from Chelsea lead him their Serie A rivals Juventus.
The comments came during a Q&A event where Insigne reinforced his opinion on Sarri’s decision, reports Goal.
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“I said it and I say it again, for us Neapolitans, that was a betrayal,” he said.
“And it will be forever. Now we have to focus on ourselves and try to beat him at all costs. Now that he’s gone to Juve, I don’t want to talk about him anymore.
“The Scudetto is a dream for all of us and we will try once more.”
Insigne’s comments come after he previously said that Sarri joining Juventus upon his Chelsea exit would be “a betrayal” to the Neapolitan faithful. Sarri took charge of Napoli from 2015 until 2018, before leaving for the Premier League having guided Napoli to three consecutive top three finishes.
28-year-old Insigne has been with the Naples club since the age of 15, making his debut in January 2010. Loan spells at Cavese, Foggia and Pescara followed before Insigne was given a chance with his boyhood club during the 2012/2013 season. Insigne has made over 300 appearances for Napoli and revealed in the same Q&A. reported by Goal, that he would like to retire at Stadio San Paolo, shutting down transfer rumours linking him to both Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool.
“No, I never thought of leaving Napoli. I’m still young, I’m happy in Naples and want to stay here for the rest of my career,” he said.
Insigne assumed the role of captaincy in January this year after record appearance maker Marek Hamsik left for Dalian Yifang of the Chinese Super League, and his dreams of winning the Italian title, echo and emulate the success of fellow diminutive Napoli great, Diego Maradona, who helped Napoli to two Serie A titles in 1987 and 1990, their only title wins to date.