Napoli, De Laurentiis: USA team idea dropped, system not ideal | OneFootball

During the evening organized by NIAF (National Italian American Foundation) in Washington, Aurelio De Laurentiis, president of Napoli, revealed a little-known behind-the-scenes detail from his entrepreneurial career in football.

Napoli, De Laurentiis: “I had considered a team in the USA, but the system doesn’t benefit new investors”

The head of the Neapolitan club said he had seriously considered buying a team in the United States, a visionary project dating back fifteen years.

“Fifteen years ago I tried to invest in a team in the United States,” De Laurentiis explained. “I had even thought of three different projects: one in Las Vegas, one in Detroit, and one in Philadelphia.”

De Laurentiis and the American dream: a project blocked by the MLS system

The Napoli president said he soon realized the structural limits of American soccer. “The real competition, similar to the European or South American model, was in the lower leagues,” he stated.

The Major League Soccer (MLS) system, in fact, is a closed model without relegations, with strict financial and contractual rules. “In the top division, without relegation and with the obligation to sell players to other teams,” De Laurentiis explained, “an initial investment that was too high was required, around 300 million dollars.”

A system he described as “well designed for those who created it, but not very advantageous for those who wanted to take part.” Essentially, a model that safeguards the economic stability of existing clubs, but makes it complicated for new foreign investors eager to compete on equal terms to enter.

International vision and economic pragmatism

This behind-the-scenes account confirms De Laurentiis’s entrepreneurial vision, always attentive to economic sustainability and the enhancement of sports brands. The idea of expanding into the United States was not just a sporting challenge, but an industrial project inspired by global market logic.

Despite stepping back, the Napoli president’s interest in the American market remains high, especially in terms of partnerships and international visibility.

“It’s time to rethink European football”

De Laurentiis didn’t limit himself to recounting the past, but took the opportunity to send a message about the future of European football. “It’s time to rethink the rules of the game and the format of the Italian league,” he stated. “We must look ahead, without fear of innovating.”

The words of the Azzurri owner fit into the broader debate on reforming national and continental competitions, a topic on which De Laurentiis has spoken several times, advocating the need to modernize Serie A and to review the European calendar with economic and entertainment considerations in mind.

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