Osimhen case: Napoli’s chat jokes, “Hope they refuse, or it’s robbery” | OneFootball

The reconstruction published by la Repubblica sheds new light on the negotiation that, in the summer of 2020, brought Victor Osimhen from Lille to Napoli for a total amount of about 70 million euros.

Osimhen Case, Napoli's internal chats: "Let's hope they refuse, otherwise we'll have to resort to robbery"

In the documents acquired by the Guardia di Finanza, exchanges of emails and messages involving Andrea Chiavelli, Cristiano Giuntoli and Giuseppe Pompilio, then executives of the Neapolitan club, emerge.

Although Giuntoli and Pompilio are not under investigation, their dialogues reveal the climate of tension and uncertainty that accompanied one of the most expensive operations in Napoli's history.

Chiavelli to Giuntoli: "Let's hope they refuse, otherwise we'll have to resort to robbery"

It's July 17, 2020. The championship is still ongoing, postponed due to the pandemic. In Napoli's internal chats, a draft contract for 70 million euros for Osimhen is circulating.

CEO Andrea Chiavelli writes to Giuntoli:

"Let's hope they refuse... otherwise we'll have to resort to robbery."

A bitter joke, accompanied by emoticons, which hints at the economic doubts of the blue management about the operation. A few minutes later, Giuntoli responds:

"I'm standing still, in fact he told me to send it hoping they don't accept. I have to talk to Aurelio. What a terrorist."

Pompilio: "You shouldn't write anything. Don't leave traces in the emails"

In the course of the exchange, Giuntoli shares his concerns with Giuseppe Pompilio, his collaborator. The conversation takes on increasingly revealing tones.

Giuntoli writes:

"Terrorist. Write that we were lucky that Amrabat and Kumbulla didn't want to come. Otherwise we had to play the championship with Petagna."

Pompilio's reply is immediate and cautious:

"You shouldn't write anything. Don't leave traces in the emails. Say whatever you want verbally."

An exchange that, according to the Guardia di Finanza, would demonstrate the awareness of the reputational and accounting risks linked to the negotiation with Lille.

A complex economic context: between budget limits and market in pandemic

The conversations dating back to that summer also highlight Napoli's financial difficulties in a period marked by Covid-19 restrictions. The club was seeking a balance between the need to strengthen and economic sustainability. Giuntoli's words - "Otherwise we would have played with Petagna" - reflect the lack of concrete alternatives on the market and the internal tension for a negotiation considered too expensive.

The position of the Prosecutor's Office and the judicial risks for De Laurentiis

The investigation by the Rome Prosecutor's Office continues on the basis of the Finance's reports. The focus remains on the evaluation of the technical counterparts, considered inflated, and on the alleged artificial nature of the total price. The Prosecutor's Office has requested the indictment for false accounting for Aurelio De Laurentiis and Andrea Chiavelli.

Giuntoli and Pompilio, today respectively sports director of Juventus and collaborator, remain outside the investigation but at the center of the story of those hectic days.

From Lille to court: a deal that continues to be discussed

The Osimhen deal proves to be an emblematic case of how a sports negotiation can turn into a large-scale judicial dossier. The chats and emails now on record reveal the behind-the-scenes of an opaque negotiation, between bitter jokes, skepticism and fears of economic and legal consequences.

A deal that, years later, risks setting a precedent in the relationship between finance and football, showing how thin the line between market strategy and accounting manipulation can be.

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