Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis revealed they turned down invitationals from Barcelona and Manchester United.
Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis has revealed that they turned down high-profile pre-season friendlies against Manchester United and Barcelona, preferring to stay back in Italy to prepare for the next season.
What Laurentiis said
The Partenopei president was speaking today at the unveiling of Napoli's new coach, Rudi Garcia when he revealed they turned down friendlies against two of the biggest teams in the world.
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According to him, the Blaugrana invited them for their pre-season Joan Gamper trophy, and Manchester United wanted them to come to England to play against them.
He said they refused the invitations, citing the need to adequately prepare for the next season as the reason.
Laurentiis prioritises training camps over touring and says they are working on bringing international friendlies to Castel Di Sangro, where they are going to have their camp, to avoid leaving.
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“I am convinced that preparation in the training camps is fundamental. We have refused to go to play Gamper with Barcelona or to go to Manchester to challenge United,” he said, per TMW.
"From July 28 to August 12, we are working to bring international friendlies to Castel Di Sangro, to avoid leaving. In that period, you have to put fuel inside the mechanism, to last as long as possible.”
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