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Khvicha Kvaratskhelia Quits Napoli I PSG Next? | Who Is To Blame? | Replacements (Clip From Ep. 485)
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Napoli coach Antonio Conte confirmed this last weekend that Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has handed in a transfer request amid strong links to PSG.
Nima Tavallaey and Carlo Garganese, discuss, debate and analyze what Aurelio De Laurentiis did wrong to get things to this point.
This is an extended clip from this week's free Monday episode of The Italian Football Podcast which is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube podcasts.
To listen to this & all other full episodes of The Italian Football Podcast (and support the show), go to Patreon.com/TIFP OR now also available on Spotify OR YouTube Memberships and sign up. Your support makes The Italian Football Podcast possible.
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Transcript
Kvartzkelya's Transfer Request
00:00:02
Speaker
Welcome to the Italian football podcast. So, only one place to start in the transfer market, Kavica Kvartzkelya, the bombshell which Antonio Conte ah revealed at the weekend. ah He announced ahead of their their their weekend game against their Sunday game against Verona that Karat Skalia had asked to leave the club. He was subsequently left out of the the team for that Verona game. PSG are in talks to to sign him ah and we're looking at probably 70 million euros, 80 million euros for Kvara.
Napoli's Contract Mismanagement
00:00:43
Speaker
Conte confirmed that he was very disappointed, said he'd worked
00:00:47
Speaker
extremely hard for the for these first six months of the season that he'd actually asked to leave in the summer, but they kind of convinced him to to stay. and But now he has asked to leave again. um My first reaction to this, as in why it has come to this, what has gone wrong for Colorado Scalia to to leave. um For me, there's one huge reason that and stands out from all the others and it's all Napoli's fault, it's Ordo Relio de Laurentiis' fault, it's the club's fault for not giving them that new contract. It's actually ridiculous now that we're sitting were we're sitting here at the start of 2025, a player that joined in the summer of
00:01:33
Speaker
2022 and he's still on the same salary and same contract that he was when he joined the club despite him being ah arguably the best player or one of the two best players in the league along with Victor Ossiman um when Napoli won that historic Scudetto in his first season of the club, 1.5 million euros a year, one of the the lowest in the Napoli squad, um it's absolutely insulting, it it's disgraceful the way he's been treated by Napoli, that he's still on the same contract and also
00:02:12
Speaker
If you look at the timeline of his contract negotiations, Napoli refused to even open talks with him for a whole year until until until until last year, until 2024. They refused to even open talks with him. um And so, you know, it was too late already by then when they opened contract negotiations.
Criticism of Napoli's Management
00:02:34
Speaker
He should have been on a huge huge salary hike, new contract as soon as they won that Scudetto.
00:02:41
Speaker
as as reward but for for bringing him that Scudetto. So it all started then. It's been handled terribly. It's been too late now what they've tried to is try to negotiate with them with a new contract and it's all come to this. So Napoli can only blame themselves. De Laurentiis can only blame themselves for this. I really have nothing more to add um because that's exactly what happened. um And that's exactly the timeline. And that's exactly when this went wrong.
00:03:08
Speaker
And the future has been very, been very Well-mannered and calm as a destabilized um and he asked to leave last summer They convinced him to stay but then we're now in January and still no new contractors Has been reached and no new I can imagine by then it was too late um But yeah, that's exactly it you you know This you have to understand that this isn't or Aurelio de la rentes has to understand and understand that the 1980s are over and
00:03:42
Speaker
both in terms of movies and in terms of football, um in the sense that it's a player's market now.
Impact of Kvartzkelya's Departure
00:03:50
Speaker
You sign a contract, the the players can do this. They have that power. And he should have exactly like you said, the second they won the scurrita, they should have sat down within that summer and given him a wage hike with a wage increase and ah and a contract extension, because that way the player feels more more appreciated for the for the historic things he did but De La Antis literally said well you know i remember it clearly he said it that you know the contract the ink on the contract is not dry yet we don't renegotiate contracts every single year well congratulations congratulations this is what happens you're in the middle of a scudetto race you're top of the league and the biggest biggest star remaining from that scudetto side in your club has demanded publicly to leave
00:04:38
Speaker
Well done. yeah Congratulations. that's all now please so He's the 19th highest paid player in the and the Napoli squad. I mean mean it's embarrassing. It's it's it's embarrasing it's ah's absolutely absurd and it's like you can laugh and blah blah blah and you know he's funny and this and that but this is pure sheer incompetence.
00:04:55
Speaker
And he says, again, incompetence, just like with Osseman, when he when he created that mess and they ended it ended the way it did. And now he ah everything he did after the school that summer, when he didn't appoint a proper sporting director, he missed out on Tiago Mota. He, you know, all the things he did. It's not even a model. These are the examples that, you know, this is again the or that meme, you know, the the effects of your of your actions coming back to haunt you. And it's um It's it's on him. It is entirely on him. It was too late to do it already in the summer when he was asking to leave. They should have probably sold him in the summer, if I'm perfectly honest. But now he stayed for six months. um And I got to be honest with you, um if we look at it from the from the actual other side, i I don't think this harms Napoli. Well, I want to come to that in a second. ah Just just staying on kind of like the blame game. um You know, the the
00:05:50
Speaker
you know I don't even think it's ah a modern football problem. This is just a matter of respect. like It doesn't matter what era you're in. If it's 1970, 1990 or 2025, if you're in a football team or any sports team and you've got the best player on the team,
00:06:09
Speaker
who is instrumental in winning the the title, the championship for you. And it's a club like Napoli even added to that. you know This is a historic title, the first that they've won in 23 years that they'd won. you know and the the the you know this is We're talking about a world-class player here, one of the best in the world. And he plays such a pivotal role in you winning. And you know you're the 19th highest played player in the squad, you're on McDonald's wages. And it's just a matter of respect. you know That's what it is. It's a matter of respect.
00:06:39
Speaker
you pay the player what he's what he deserves. you know It's not even about modern football because you know I'm very critical. I think we all we both are how money has ruined football and how you've got players on these massive set massive massive contracts that they're earning 100,000 pounds a week or 10, and then they still want more. They want more, more, more, more greedy, just complete greed. And you think, well, what is the difference between earning, say,
00:07:06
Speaker
you know 10 million a year and earning 12 million in a year and they just want more, more, more. Now that is pure greed. Now that, you know, if Cloud at Skater was on, you know, 10 million a year and he won the Scudetto and he wanted 15 million a year, then that, you know, I would have been on De La Renta's site. But we're talking about a player that is on one and a half million euros a year, is the 19th highest paid player in his own his own squad. And that is, you know, that is Relatively that is McDonald's wages in football It's just that it's just a matter of respect and just just you know Just pay him what he deserves everything that he'd done and and it's just a stab in the back That is I mean, you know, it's it's embarrassing. So so, you know, I don't blame Clara I'm completely on his side for leaving. He's been very patient He's he's stayed on for another 18 months despite being humiliated and insulted in this way He stayed on for another 18 months. I don't blame him for leaving
00:08:04
Speaker
And I don't think Napoli fans should. The blame is all on your on your on your president and on the club. Yeah, um it is. I've got nothing to add to that. I think it's fairly, fairly clear and I've seen many Napoli fans kind of say exactly that.
00:08:18
Speaker
um and and And people are going, well, if you sign a contract, you're like, listen, that's a cute and great. And I know the law of it i might um actually was very good in contract law. So I know how the legality of it works. But then there's reality and real life.
Post-Scudetto Challenges
00:08:33
Speaker
Please join us in the real world, in the real life. Don't defend the stupid stupidity of dell'arentis who acted like a grumpy old shakespean Shakespearean greedy fat old man sitting there behind a desk gobbling away when he had all the power could have fixed this problem already when he sorry Dickensian not Shakespearean Dickensian factory owner sitting behind his desk you know but i was pointing the whole hand showing who's the boss
00:09:06
Speaker
when you know that but when this is all on him he could have resolved this already already but schedules oliver twist going up for the gruel some more and more and yeah and he's the big yeah you know in that in the yeah no upstairs those all those fatties around the table No, but it's it's embarrassing. he he embarrasseses He embarrasses himself. I mean, he like you know, we've given lots of praise where he's where it's deserved to the Valentines for the fantastic way that he's run Napoli since taking them over in virtually non-existent form and brought them to the Champions League quarterfinal in Escudetto and Copa Italia and all these other things he's done. But he also, like all human beings, has a tendency to get very arrogant and full of himself.
00:09:49
Speaker
And he did do that. And this is, again, the the remnants of the stupidity post scurrito, which this is the last, hopefully the last thing that haunts Napoli from from that era, because I don't see this being repeated ever again. However, on the flip side, I don't think it's all negative. I think there's many things that is all that that is actually pretty positive. Number one, barring Lobotka and Anguisa,
00:10:15
Speaker
the big the or you know the the main big players from that scoreto era, because most of them, other than those two who are left, heterenza more yeah more had had a more peripheral role. de lorenzo as well yeah But yeah, it's fair. But he's but but I'm going to get to that. I mean, so in the sense of how important they are. But but But yeah now they're all gone. You can really, but you're really rebuilding now. Osman's gone. Kvara will soon be gone. Kim is gone. You know, you you can really kind of freshen it out. It's all it's it's over now. that that That is now in the pantheon of Napoli legend. um Now you need to move on and you have no choice but to move on. And you really do have the right perfect coach to move on in Antonio Concho. Concho, you have really do have the perfect
00:11:09
Speaker
um sporting project to move on, because if there's anything Konta does, he doesn't, he's not sentimental. He doesn't wait around. He moves on. He wants to win. It's the next win. Immediately when he wins one trophy, he's looking to the next one. Like, that's just the kind of character he is. And secondly, ah it's, I don't think, like, on the, it was a big question mark going into this season, how Qua Quara would do in Antonio Konta's system.
00:11:36
Speaker
And barring becoming Player of the Month, I think it was in September, he's not been very good. He's not excelled. He's not delivering what Napoli need.
Potential Replacements for Kvartzkelya
00:11:46
Speaker
And then on the other hand, you have Neresh, who looks completely on fire. um And you want to bring in someone to, you know, someone to work in that system with 70 million. You can play with 70, 60, 70 million, however much they get. You can play with that. You can actually do something with that. And I know we're going to get to to what what who they should buy. But I mean, there's been talks of Kieza,
00:12:11
Speaker
ah There's been talks of Garnaccio. Personally, in my opinion, um I think both Kulosevsky's agent and Konta should be moving heaven and earth for them to be working together again. I mean, Kulosevsky in in a Konta system at Napoli like this would be unbelievable. And I'm sorry, but Spurs is a mid-table club. They won't win any trophies again.
00:12:40
Speaker
Uh, and if he wants to wither away, body and on legal go right ahead. for the car bit It could even be a non league team. and they like us know over ninety minutes I'm sorry, but it's like, you can tell you the spurs have timers to play. They're part time team. They play it again. Spurs have a huge fan base. They have important history.
00:12:59
Speaker
They have a fantastic stadium. They played against one guy that stood that got injured standing on a nail at work. Yeah, and I saw it. and and I mean, it's like all of those things are true, but Spurs are not a big club. They're not a title. Well, the club and I think Kolesevski would be ideal. We saw what Konta can do to Kolesevski when they played together. It's the only season barring his parma six months that he has looked like a top-class player. It was under Antonio Cole. It won't. Cole's scavs, he won't. Napoli's too expensive, and he plays on the right, whereas they need a left-winger. But I mean, I think that, listen, I think i think that there's ah there's a there's there's a few there's a couple of different ways to look at this, that the instant impact of losing credit scale for Napoli's chances of winning the Scudetto this season. That depends, I guess, partly on, like you say, who how they replace him, who comes in.
00:13:52
Speaker
um you know how they spend that $70 million? Do they strengthen the team? Do they do they find the you know which left winger do they bring in and what's the quality of players? i mean We've seen Kiesa, ZH, Zegrova, who's a right winger, Durgu, who can kind of play
Napoli's Aging Squad Concerns
00:14:09
Speaker
everywhere, Ganacho, which I think is probably unrealistic, even Rashford, who's the first player I've thought of actually,
00:14:15
Speaker
was Marcus Rush, whether he's a Conte player or not, I don't know. But but so you know these are the kind of names that are being mentioned. We'll have to see who they who they go for. That will be, you know, that their skedetto chances will depend a lot on how they replace Klaat Skadia. I've heard a name that I really like, and I think Ziech, I think his works, Garnaccio maybe, I don't think he's too expensive. Ziech is a right-winger though, so you know that and and also he's part past his best. Now I wouldn't, Kiesa would be a huge gamble. So Grover's fantastic, but he's a right winger. So I don't know, we'd have to see, we'd have to see, but I think that the the the the longer term is where I'm worried about Napoli. And that's where I slightly disagree with you, because, you know, that Scudetto winning team
00:15:01
Speaker
if you look at the age of the napopoli team you know this season okay that's fine conte will drag and dura get everything out and that you can but this is quite ah quite an old napoli team and really the the the three players who were of an age that yeah that could be around for a long time in this Napoli team, were those three players you mentioned, ki Kim, Osseman, and Kvalecskelya. And by the end of this season, by the summer, all three will be gone. Clara probably is going to leave now, and Osseman is going to leave for certain in the in the summer. So all three are gone. the Those that are remaining are old are pretty old players. I mean, if you go through, I mean, Di Lorenzo is going to be 32 this summer. Gudakman, he's 31.
00:15:43
Speaker
um you know Lebokka is already 30 and Guisa I think is turning 30 this year if I'm if I'm not ah mistaken or he's 29 you know we're talking about you know Lukaku he's going to be 32, Politano is in his 30s you know we're talking about an old team the core of the team is old there's a there's a few sprinklings of younger players that have come in like Buongiorno um You know, Tom and I still have a decent age. I think he's 20, 28 now, but generally it's ah it's an aging team. So this team next year and the year after, and we know Conte generally doesn't stay at clubs for longer than two to three years. That is the concern. But again, you know, let's see how they spend the 70 million. You know, do they bring in younger players?
Focus on Immediate Success
00:16:27
Speaker
My concern is is kind of like what Napoli are going to be like because they've gone all in with Conte. Obviously they've bought in, De Laurentiis has bought into the Conte project and that means buying ready-made players rather than buying developing players. I get that. That's already going to be okay. So I think this was already a concern.
00:16:43
Speaker
But when you lose cloud at scale, it kind of hammers it home. You've got rid of all your players that that are but can give you something sustainable over a longer period and you're just basically all in on older players. So my my my worry with Napoli is where are they going to be in two years? What is their team going to be? Because most of this team will be past it.
00:17:01
Speaker
and I think, so I think that's pretty much what we said when Konta joined as well, that he's an instant impact coach. um And this is what happens when you think you're smarter than everybody else and you want to play the long game and pin penny pinch, you end up having to pay more just to make up make amends. And that's exactly what's happening now with the line is he, he tried to be smarter than everyone else and be arrogant and say stupid shit like Oh, i't when Thiago Mota asked him about who the sporting director is, he said, ah what sporting director? I'm here. You know, if you're going to be that kind of a guy, then congratulations. You played yourself. Here are the unfortunate consequences of your actions. Enjoy. Have some humble pie. Have some have some nice little custard on it. Enjoy it. Bon appetit. So that that's what he's doing. this This is this is all it is. But we all butd we all know that the content project is not as maximum going to be two, three years. We all know that. I think I think that was pretty much like every everyone knows this.
00:17:57
Speaker
But so they don't have the they they can't have they have they don't have the luxury to to think that far ahead right now. What he has to do is to just bite the bullet, try to get as much out of kvara, try to get as young and decent enough replacement for kvara in that system, and try to keep Konta happy, which is easier said than done.