Napoli chief Manna: ‘Kvaratskhelia salary ideas very different to ours’ | OneFootball

Napoli director of sport Giovanni Manna confirms Khvicha Kvaratskhelia had to leave for Paris Saint-Germain because ‘his salary ideas did not coincide with ours.’

The trip to Atalanta kicks off at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo at 19.45 GMT.

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from this game and Milan-Juventus on the Liveblog.

The Partenopei begin their post- Kvaratskhelia era today, as he completed his transfer to Paris Saint-Germain on Friday at a reported cost of €70m plus performance-related bonuses.

“The team reacted well to Kvara’s departure, because they are concentrated, the coach united them and besides they were already prepared for this eventuality,” Manna told Sky Sport Italia.

“We know that an important player has left and we are valuing how and where we want to intervene in the squad. There’s no point naming names now, because they might be suitable today and not tomorrow. We had already done some things that did not pan out.”

Kvaratskhelia asked to leave Napoli mid-season

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia of Napoli shows his disappointment during the Serie A match between Napoli and SS Lazio at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on December 08, 2024 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)

In the lengthy goodbye video that he posted on Instagram, Kvaratskhelia said he would ‘tell you everything’ one day about his departure, so what did he mean by that?

“You would have to ask him,” replied Manna.

“He expressly asked to be sold while we were working on a complicated contract renewal, but we were on the right track with that. Evidently, his salary ideas did not coincide with ours and it was our duty to make the sale.

“We already had important players come through here and leave, so we are relaxed.”

Kvaratskhelia was still on the same €1.5m per season salary as when he first arrived as a relative unknown from Dinamo Batumi in July 2022.

He is now set to earn a reported €9m per year plus bonuses in Paris.