De Laurentiis criticises Cardinale after dinner meeting: “I’d have had to throw him out”

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has made some rather explosive comments regarding a dinner he had with Gerry Cardinale.

In many ways, De Laurentiis and Cardinale represent the two quite conflicting faces of Italian football at the moment. On the one hand, ADL has been at the helm of Napoli since 2004, so he knows his way around the system and is often seen as a bit of a one-man show in Naples.

Read SempreMilan ad-free and get access to exclusive news. Click here for a free trial!

On the flip side, someone like Cardinale – who bought Milan in 2022 – is one of many overseas investors that have got involved in Serie A, especially with American investment. As was to be expected, they want to change things to get the league closer to Europe’s elite.

This is often met with resistance from those who know and benefit from the status quo. De Laurentiis spoke at an event on Wednesday night and touched upon subjects such as Napoli’s new stadium project, but he also went on a bit of a tirade about a dinner with Cardinale.

“I invited Cardinale to dinner three years ago, he tried saying things that I did not even try to object to, otherwise I’d have had to throw him out. He said things that in my view were all over the place,” he said (via Football Italia).

“This was an owner who had the requirements of a financier and not a real entrepreneur. Say what you like about my cinema, but we do everything in house, from the ideas to the marketing and distribution.

“That is not something that Cardinale understands, because he and the other funds invested money in order to bring profit back to their investors. If after a while they haven’t earned, then what benefit was brought? None.”