Canale 21 journalist Umberto Chiariello has revealed he recently held a phonecall with Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti to discuss his criticism of his time in charge of Napoli.
Ancelotti managed the Italian side between July 2018 and December 2019, arriving as the replacement for Maurizio Sarri when he joined Chelsea.
He would go on to manage the side for 73 games in total but his time at the club proved to be an unhappy one, with turmoil off the pitch effectively ending his spell early.
He was eventually sacked in December 2019, with Aurelio de Laurentiis pulling the plug less than an hour after Ancelotti had led them to the Champions League knockout stages.
Ancelotti has since moved to Everton, where he’s been a massive hit since arriving not long after leaving Napoli last year.
That’s seen some of his more vocal critics scale back on their disparagements, and it seems Chiarello is one them, revealing a recent phone conversation with the Everton boss.
“Just on Monday morning I was on the phone with Ancelotti for an hour,” he told Respeta Lo Sport, relayed by Arena Napoli.
“He was pleased to hear from me, and he sent me a message to call him.
“A great gentleman, he didn’t bat an eyelid at any criticism he received and told me that he follows Napoli through my editorials.
“It’s an honour for me. I told him he’s a great man and the reason I was so fierce with him to the point of calling him Carlo the Destroyer is that I had believed in him so much.
“I’m not here, for the sake of seriousness, to tell you the reasons why his adventure in Naples ended badly from his point of view, but he didn’t deny anything”.
“I felt such esteem, and gentility from him and my heart tightened thinking that I criticised him, that I was right to criticise him, that I will not change my mind, but that I am so sorry because humanly he is a wonderful person.”
