What are they smoking over there?
Napoli’s chief has accused Liverpool and Roma of a bizarre ownership collusion.
In a rant aimed at the two Champions League rivals, Aurelio De Laurentiis claimed the Reds’ owner John W Henry and Giallorossi chairman James Pallotta have an underhand agreement.
He said: “I always had a suspicion that the real owner of Roma is the same as Liverpool.
“And if this were the case, the two clubs should not be allowed to play in the Champions League.”
Asked how he knew that, the 69-year-old told Gazzetta Dello Sport: “A little bird told me a few years ago.”
Roma’s Twitter responded with a tongue in cheek quote from Pallotta.
He said: “What do you think Aurelio De Laurentiis is smoking over there in Naples?
“If he finds that little bird again he’ll find out we also own Barca and Bayern.”
It is against Uefa rules for two Champions League clubs to have the same owners.
Liverpool signed Mo Salah from Roma for an initial £34.4million before the Egyptian went on to score 44 goals for the Reds.
Then the Anfield club went back to the Serie A club to buy Alisson for a then world record fee for a goalkeeper of £67m.
The two clubs also played each other in the Champions League semi-finals last term, with Jurgen Klopp’s side triumphing 7-6 on aggregate.
Napoli hired Carlo Ancelotti over the summer after Maurizio Sarri left the club for Chelsea.
De Laurentiis made sure Sarri’s exit was as difficult as possible, forcing the West London club to come to an agreement with them over the end of the Italian’s contract first.
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