Sarri unsure of Napoli future

By Football Italia staff

Napoli Coach Maurizio Sarri does not know whether he will continue at the club and doubts the Partenopei will be able to retain all of their current squad.

The San Paolo side finished their season with a 2-1 win over Crotone this afternoon, making them the first team in Serie A history to win 90 points and still fail to clinch the Scudetto.

The future of Sarri has been in doubt ever since it became clear the Azzurri would fall short of overhauling Juventus in the title race.

Talks have taken place with President Aurelio De Laurentiis but they appear to have provided little clarity on what the former Empoli boss’ next move will be.

“The season finished 20 minutes ago,” Sarri told reporters when questioned on his future plans. “The truth is as Insigne put it – even I don’t know what I will do.

“After the match in Florence, when it became clear we wouldn’t win the League, we gave ourselves this new target of the points record.

“Right now I am hungry. Tomorrow I will talk to my family before anyone else. That’s what is right at this moment.”

Sarri acknowledged that he will quickly need to signal his intentions to De Laurentiis.

“The President needs a response quickly. We are at the end of the season and he needs to plan.

“I understand that he needs an answer.

“My only confusion is that in life everything comes to an end. It’s the truth and sometimes it’s better to finish stories while they are good.

“When I arrived, the team had finished 24 points off the top. Now, we are four points behind.

“We have not reached the target, but the journey has been fantastic.

“I need to thank the crowd. Regardless of what I am doing next year, they will always have a place in my heart.”

Sarri admitted that the decision over whether to stay is ‘complicated,’ adding that he would not be able to count on keeping his key players.

“Is it a complicated situation? Yes, you can’t say that we’ll move forward and try again with this group, because I don’t know whether this group will all be able to stay together.

“Some of them have release clauses and offers from top teams in the world.

“I’m not sure if the club will manage to keep all of this group.”

Despite Napoli narrowly missing out on their first Scudetto since 1990, Sarri described his side’s season as ‘extraordinary.’

“The crowd in Naples has been stupendous for the whole year.

“Even today, 50,000 of them supported us for our points record even though we didn’t win the Scudetto.

“Since there have been three points for a win, anyone who has ever passed 90 points has always won.

“The team has had an extraordinary season. For three consecutive years we have had club record point hauls. We have always been growing.”

Recent rumours have linked Sarri with a move to Chelsea, and the Partenopei boss appeared to rule out joining another Italian team any time soon.

“I don’t think I could go to another Italian team immediately. The memory of Napoli would be too strong.”

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