Aurelio de Laurentiis, the owner of Napoli, made a controversial comparison between Kalidou Koulibaly and Harry Maguire, claiming the Senegalese was worth three times as much as the Manchester United star.
Aurelio de Laurentiis, the owner of Napoli, claimed Kalidou Koulibaly was three times more valuable than Harry Maguire.
Aurelio de Laurentiis, the owner of Napoli, has a reputation for being a little too candid at times, so it's no surprise that Harry Maguire was once a target of his wrath after being compared to Chelsea-bound star Kalidou Koulibaly.
Manchester United signed the England international from Leicester City for £80 million in 2019, a world record fee for a defender at the time.
However, in his three seasons at Old Trafford, the United captain has had mixed fortunes and has been chastised for making some individual errors in the United backline. The club has also come under fire for allegedly overpaying for the centre-back, who was 27 at the time.
Harry Maguire was told he was only worth one-third of what Kalidou Koulibaly was worth.
Harry Maguire was told he was only worth one-third of what Kalidou Koulibaly was worth.
De Laurentiis was one of the few European club owners to make that claim, comparing Maguire to his star player Koulibaly at Napoli, claiming that if Maguire was worth £80 million, the Senegal enforcer was worth three times that.
"He [Koulibaly] has a £150 million clause," the Italian told ESPN FC in 2019. "However, in England, they paid £85 million for a player [Maguire]." In Napoli, I would pay between £30 and £35 million. Given that, I believe Koulibaly is worth £250 million if they paid that much for him. They make more money in England than in France, Spain, Italy, or Germany. If a club earns £800 million, it has no problem offering around £80 million, £90 million, or £100 million for a single player. England and the other countries do not compete in a fair and open manner.
De Laurentiis, 73, is known as a tough negotiator and has fought for years to keep Koulibaly out of the clutches of European clubs. The Partenopei boss previously turned down offers for his star center-back from Chelsea in 2015 and Manchester United the following summer, remaining firm on his £90 million valuation for the former Genk man.
However, it appears that Napoli are finally ready to let Koulibaly leave this summer, with his contract expiring in 2023 after he refused a new contract. Chelsea have agreed a fee of £34 million to sign the 31-year-old defender, bringing an end to his eight-year association with the Serie A club as he prepares to move to England after years of speculation.
On the basis of Koulibaly's fee, one can only assume that De Laurentiis now values Maguire at around £10 million. But, at the very least, the filmmaker will be able to see the players face to face in the Premier League next season - and determine once and for all whether his assertion was correct.
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