Napoli director Cristiano Giuntoli spilled the beans on their busy transfer window in a wide-ranging interview, confirming their attempt to sign Keylor Navas and further dismissing the buzz about Cristiano Ronaldo. He offered his thoughts to Radio Kiss Kiss.
“Alex Meret has been more serene in the last three matches. Between the sticks, he’s the best goalkeeper we have had in recent years. He makes great saves look easy. There’s a reason why he has played over 100 matches with us. We have always relied on him, but he often missed time with injuries. He featured more than David Ospina with Carlo Ancelotti. Instead, he was fielded less due to the obsession of building from the back last season. As for his extension, his agent told us that he wanted to see whom we would sign first. He’s the starter now, so I don’t think there will be any issue.”
The exec was quizzed about Navas.
“We had four players whose contracts were set to expire in 2023: Kalidou Koulibaly, Adam Ounas, Fabian Ruiz and Meret. We reached the point where they either extended them or they had to leave. Our relationship with PSG is stong, and they requested the Spaniard. We tried to solve each other’s problems. We wanted the Costa Rican to partner with Meret. It wasn’t possible because there was an issue between him and his club. Therefore, we were good and lucky to sell Ruiz.”
Instead, Giuntoli stated that Cristiano Ronaldo wasn’t close to joining Napoli.
“It’s not great to quell the dreams of the fans, but there was never a negotiation. Nobody questions his skills. But we are attached to our players and believe to have a competitive squad.”
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