Napoli: Costanzo retires at 23, “I chose to stay clean” | OneFootball

Sometimes the dream shatters long before the final whistle. This is the story of Davide Costanzo, former defender and captain of Napoli’s Primavera team during the 2020-2022 seasons, who at just 23 years old has decided to call it quits. A farewell to playing football that does not go unnoticed, not so much for a career cut short—after coming close to Serie A without ever making his debut, he played in the lower leagues with Portici, Nola, Angri, Pompei, and Frattese—but rather for the harsh j’accuse he launched against the system that raised him and then, in his words, let him down.

“Merit counts less than favors”: the harsh j’accuse from former Napoli captain Costanzo on the day of his farewell

Entrusting his thoughts to social media, Costanzo wrote a farewell letter that reads like an open-hearted denunciation of the “political” dynamics of football. “I have unfortunately realized that football is a world where merit counts less than favors,” reads the post that went viral within hours. “Where those with connections move forward, and those with only talent remain stuck.” Words as heavy as stones, revealing the disillusionment of a young man who started at age 4 with a dream and collided with a reality full of hypocrisy.

The former jewel of Napoli’s youth academy doesn’t spare criticism even for those around him, describing the loneliness he felt once the spotlight of the blue jersey faded: “Around me, in the good times, there were so many of you. But when darkness came, almost everyone disappeared. If I’m quitting today, it’s not because I’m not capable,” Costanzo concludes with pride, “but because this is no longer a safe or right path. If this system calls ‘failure’ staying clean, then I would do it all over again.”

Andrea Alati

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.