Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis wants his team to qualify for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup at all costs. He has set a €10M prize for the players if they make it. The Partenopei need a little nudge to overtake Juventus for the final spot reserved for Italian teams. Inter have already punched their ticket, Sky relays.
The ranking is determined exclusively by the performances in the Champions League in the last few years. The Azzurri wouldn’t be able to surpass their archrivals if they were eliminated by Barcelona. Instead, if they reached the quarter-finals, they would need a win or two draws.
De Laurentiis is wary that Napoli might miss out on the top four, or five, this season, and qualifying for the FIFA Club World Cup would help soften the economic blow. Its participants earn €50M simply by qualifying. The winner will cash in €100M.
The Partenopei are seven points behind the fourth-placed Bologna and four below Roma. Serie A getting a fifth Champions League spot also hinges on their performances. However, the success of the teams in the Europa League could be enough.
If Napoli don’t earn access to the new cup on the pitch, De Laurentiis might try to get it in the courtrooms, Calcio e Finanza reports. He’s ready to appeal and ask for Juventus’ exclusion. The Bianconeri were kicked out of the European competitions for disciplinary reasons and financial misconduct last year.
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