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De Laurentiis: 'You can go to China to live in 2-3 years of sh*t'

De Laurentiis: 'You can go to China to live in 2-3 years of sh*t'

Napoli President Aurelio de Laurentiis has said that players can go to China if they want to live 2-3 years of sh*t. 

De Laurentiis said this in reference of some of his players being linked with moves to China. Dries Mertens and Jose Callejon, specifically, have had offers from China over the last few months. 

In an interview that De Laurentiis gave to Sky Sports, he talked about why players should go to China at their own risk and how it should not be players' means to an end. But if it is, they can go to China.

He said: ​"The renewals of Mertens and Callejon? I am not prepared for an important effort. Each player has his own value depending on where he plays, how he plays, what age he is and what he does. If someone wants to go to China because he is overpaid to live two or three years of sh*t, it's his problem."

He also revealed that he does not find the football in China competitive and it far from the level of football they play in Europe.

He said: "I can't consider China competitive. China is far away. If they consider it close, at some point it's their problems that they don't concern. you have to choose whether to be happy and work for what you like to do or just for money. For me, money is a means and not an end, but if it is an end to them, they go to China."

Mertens and Callejon haven't just been linked with moves to China, but there has also been talk of Napoli handing them new contracts soon. Their current deals run at the end of the season.

Mertens arrived at the club from PSV Eindhoven in the summer of 2013 for a fee of 9 million euros. Since then, he has been one of the most consistent players and is currently the club's third-highest goalscorer in history.

Callejon arrived from Real Madrid in the summer of 2013 for 10 million euros he has appeared over 300 times for the partenopei since then.