Napoli CEO Aurelio de Laurentiis slams international break: “We can’t go on like this”

According to an interview with Motore Italia, edizione America’s Cup, Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis, reported by AreaNapoli.it, the club owner has launched a fierce attack on the current international football schedule, citing the financial and competitive damage caused to clubs by player injuries.

De Laurentiis expressed extreme frustration, confirming that two of his Napoli players returned from the recent international break “wrecked.” He criticized the governing bodies for prioritizing national team matches over the welfare of the players and the clubs who employ them.

The Napoli president stated his case clearly, emphasizing the direct consequences for his team: “Two of my players returned wrecked from the national teams, two players who will miss several matches. This is a topic that I have been discussing with FIFA and UEFA for years, but it doesn’t interest them.”

“We can’t go on like this. When there are championships, they have to go all the way to the end without interruptions, we need fewer teams, fewer matches.”

De Laurentiis insisted that the current system is unsustainable and proposed radical solutions to mitigate the clubs’ risk and losses. He outlined his two clear demands. The first, he suggested, is simply to eliminate the international breaks entirely. Alternatively, if the breaks cannot be eliminated, clubs must be given financial compensation through a dedicated mechanism: “The second is that we must be given a transfer window to compensate for the players we lose.”

He concluded that the current schedule allows national federations to exploit players who are paid and maintained by the clubs, without taking responsibility for the consequences.