ADL: Insigne wanted to leave, CR7...

By Football Italia staff

Aurelio De Laurentiis claims Lorenzo Insigne wanted to leave Napoli, Cristiano Ronaldo is Juventus’ ‘real’ Coach and that Serie A playoffs are ‘unworkable’.

Insigne looks set to prolong his stay at Napoli after reports that he was ready to part with Napoli, but De Laurentiis conceded he could not stop his captain from moving on.

“I know that he’s a player of Napoli, a Neapolitan,” he told Corriere dello Sport.

“He’s always shown great attachment to this shirt, but I can’t force him to stay. In the past he was attacked for being Neapolitan by some who can’t be called fans.

“He’s asked to leave several times, four years ago, six years ago and also recently before reaching an agreement with Raiola, he asked me to leave because he didn’t feel loved.”

The movie mogul once claimed he had been offered Cristiano Ronaldo before he joined Juve, so what does he think about the No 7 now?

“Cristiano Ronaldo’s strong because he’s replaced his Coach with his presence. What’s [Allegri] had to do this season?” he continued.

“The real motivator is Ronaldo, he’s the man of the dressing room. When I saw him play for his national team, I saw him sitting on the bench driving his team and shouting more than his Coach to make them win

“I couldn’t afford him: my parents taught me that you have to always work within your means.

“I don't have to prove anything to anyone because I’ve always been successful in my life, from the age of 25 when I made my first film.”

Finally, the 69-year-old was asked about proposals for playoffs and playouts to be implemented in Serie A...

“In my opinion it’s an unworkable proposal. I believe we must make a serious reflection on a different issue.

“We must stop thinking about real stadia and, above all, think about virtual stadia because with virtual stadia, we’re talking about 20-25m fans in Italy and 300-400m around the world.

“Instead, when we talk about real stadia, we talk about Sundays, when at most we have tens of thousands of fans.”

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