De Laurentiis: ‘This Napoli is stronger than last season, football needs new rules’

President Aurelio De Laurentiis is ‘convinced this Napoli team is stronger than last season’ after winning the Scudetto, and urges new rules for club and international football.

The Partenopei are back on top of the table alongside AC Milan after last night’s massive 1-0 win away to previous leaders Roma.

While Antonio Conte has repeatedly complained at the lack of alternatives in his squad amid an injury crisis, and before that insisted that expectations of following up the title success of 2024 were too high, De Laurentiis takes a different view.

“I am convinced that this Napoli team is stronger than last season,” said the President at the Gran Gala del Calcio awards in Milan.

“The new players need to be made to fall in love with the jersey, but these setbacks allowed them to show their capabilities. I am convinced we’ll continue to have a great season, but we must also consider there are 20 teams, so we’ve got to respect the others too.

“It’s going to be a fascinating campaign, we are all up there.”

David Neres scored the winning goal against Roma, his third in two games, having been largely shelved until the injury crisis gave him a chance to shine in this new 3-4-2-1 formation.

“We had him last season, but seeing as we were only in one competition, there wasn’t the chance to let everyone show what they could do,” explained De Laurentiis.

“This season with several tournaments, clearly we can have more playing time for others too. Neres has already scored more goals than throughout last term and we’re only at the start.”

Napoli won the Scudetto in 2023 and then plummeted down the table the next year, then were back on top in Conte’s first season.

A new documentary was released on that 2024-25 title-winning run, but which of the two victories was more exhilarating for De Laurentiis?

“Emotion cannot be catalogued like that, it is experienced in the moment. Many believe love is an emotion, but I feel it is a perfect moment and few manage to experience or evaluate it.”

The Napoli President has publicly complained that FIFA, UEFA and international teams ought to compensate clubs when players pick up serious injuries.

This is only part of his plans to transform the football landscape in future.

“Football institutions are old, incredibly old, and they are only interested in holding onto power, whereas we are treated like merchandise to be exchanged under their supremacy.

“Football doesn’t just belong to three or four nations, but to the whole world. We need to work out where the problems lie for the financial sustainability of the whole movement.

“In my view, we should wipe the slate clean of all that is old. There are all these regulations and rules, we talk about being business leaders, but we act like employees of a big system where only two big personalities are in charge.

“That seems sad, anachronistic, and unreal,” concluded De Laurentiis.