Napoli CEO Aurelien De Laurentiis has revealed two of his club’s former players could’ve joined UEFA Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain, Soccernet.ng reports.
Victor Osimhen joined the Italian Champions from LOSC Lille in 2020, before Kvaratskhelia moved to Naples from Dinamo Batumi in 2022.
The pair formed a force in Napoli’s attack in the season that ensued, as they led the club to a Scudetto triumph for the first time in over three decades.
Both these players were linked with moves to bigger clubs, but they opted to remain at the club for another year, and things didn’t go too well as Napoli finished 10th in the Serie A.
Get Our Sports News First – Join Our WhatsApp Channel Now!
Antonio Conte took over the coaching reins at Napoli ahead of the 2024/2025 season after the pair had made it clear they wanted to play for bigger clubs. The Italian mentioned his side were better without Osimhen.
Why Osimhen didn’t join Kvara at PSG
While it was reported that Chelsea were interested in Osimhen, Napoli’s CEO, Aurelien De Laurentiis, recently revealed that Luis Enrique’s Paris Saint-Germain submitted an offer worth over €200m for the duo.
However, the Italian CEO rejected the offer while offering the attackers new, improved contracts, but Kvaratskhelia declined the new deal.
“I had to let him [Kvara] go because his agent was threatening to use Article 17,” ADL told 7 Corriere della Sera via Di Marzio.
“After the Georgian’s extraordinary first season, we immediately moved to negotiate a contract extension, increasing his salary and offering him a significant sum.
“However, his agent, Mamuka Jugeli, had other plans for himself and the player.”
While Osimhen went on to join Galatasaray on a loan deal, Kvara stayed put at Naples simply because De Laurentiis wouldn’t let him go, before eventually joining Paris Saint-Germain for €70m during the winter transfer window.
“At the end of the second contractual year, there was the European Championship in Germany. I flew to Düsseldorf with Manna and Chiavelli to resolve the situation, but Mamuka kept stalling, claiming that Giuntoli had promised money that was never paid.
“It was a lie, easy to disprove. I could have sold him at that moment. PSG had offered over 200m for the Kvara and Osimhen package.
“However, I had promised Conte I would keep him, and I didn’t feel like going back on my word. With those funds, the idea was to buy Gyokeres,” the 76-year-old concluded.
Kvaratskhelia scored 14 goals and provided 14 assists during Napoli’s Serie A triumph in the 2022/2023 season under Luciano Spalletti, winning the league’s MVP Award.
Victor Osimhen, on the other hand, scored 26 goals and provided four assists, winning the Golden Boot in the same year.
Die Partenopei won their second Scudetto in three years last term without Osimhen, while Kvaratskhelia only spent the first half of the season at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.
Both players have gone on to experience success outside of Naples. The Georgian winger won a treble with Paris Saint-Germain, while Victor Osimhen lifted the league and league cup titles with Galatasaray last season, winning the golden boot before sealing a permanent move this summer.
Napoli ended up selling the pair for over €145m, €55m less than the amount Paris Saint-Germain offered last year.