Napoli president, Aurelien De Laurentiis has revealed why he turned down a massive €200 million offer from Paris Saint-Germain for Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
Speaking to Corriere della Sera, De Laurentiis admitted he regrets not accepting the bid, as the situation surrounding Kvaratskhelia’s contract became complicated.
“I had to let him [Kvara] go because his agent was threatening to use Article 17,” De Laurentiis said 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.”
He added that tensions grew ahead of the European Championship in Germany:
“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.