Dries Mertens would like to stay at Napoli past his expiring contract, and he made it clear. “I have had a fatal attraction for this city and its people since day one. I have been here for nine years, which is a quarter of my life. Thanks to the affection shown to me, I have been, I am, and will always be great here. I have been very lucky to make this choice. This town won me over, and I established a special connection with it and its residents.”
Mertens dished on his Napoli future in an interview with Corriere dello Sport: “The club has an option to extend my deal. I will sit tight and wait. There are only two possibilities. I know that, when we will inevitably part ways, everybody will cry in my house. I am happy here, and so is my family. But we have to be realistic. There will be a point when the team no longer needs me, but I hope that will not be the case this summer already. I will try to score a lot, so the president is obligated to keep me. The more I do it, the more value there would be in re-signing me in his eyes.”
Mertens is not interested in exotic destinations and weighed in on the present and past at Napoli: “I do not need a bag of dollars before retiring. Inter are the strongest team, but the race is not over. We have squandered too many points, also due to absences in key moments. In my mind, Maurizio Sarri’s squad was the most good-looking one. Instead, there are several what-ifs about the current one. For instance, how would we have fared without COVID-19, injuries, and the African Cup of Nations?”