Thursday is World No Tobacco Day, but that’s probably not going to stop Maurizio Sarri reaching for the packet.
CalcioNapoli24 cover the manager’s current limbo today, and it’s doesn’t feel like he’s any closer to taking over at Chelsea.
Sarri has an €8m release clause in his contract and Chelsea haven’t wanted to pay that so far. That clause expires at midnight, and CalcioNapoli24 say there’s been no email yet from Chelsea to say they’re going to use it.
Should the London club want to pay the €8m then they need to inform Napoli of their intention by midnight and then send the money by June 10th.
Once that deadline has passed, Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis can ask for how little or much as he wants. This could see the situation get even messier, because De Laurentiis is very difficult to deal with and anything could then happen.
Napoli have already appointed Carlo Ancelotti as manager, with De Laurentiis saying he couldn’t wait for Sarri to make his mind up over staying or not. Given there’s likely to be pride at stake here, there’s every chance Sarri’s price will actually go up after the claimed deadline.
Chelsea themselves still have Antonio Conte as their manager, and have been unwilling to pay the €8m to appoint Sarri as well as pay their current manager compensation.
It’s a mess.
