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A few weeks ago, Napoli had a bit of a snit on social media about Gonzalo Higuain. There'd been lots of rumors of his impending departure, with different papers quoting a variety of sums for his impending transfer fee.
It was in that little tirade that Napoli revealed for the whole world to see what Higuain's release clause is: €94,376,000. Aurelio De Laurentiis also reminded us of that figure recently when he told some fans that he wished someone would trigger that release clause.
Well, apparently the papers aren't convinced about said clause, because the talk is again about a fee of somewhere between €50-60 million for Higuain from a team like Liverpool or Arsenal. Napoli are apparently sick of it, because they just lashed out on Twitter in a big way:
Il 25 giugno scorso abbiamo comunicato quale fosse la clausola rescissoria per Higuain, e cioè 94,736 milioni (continua)
— Official SSC Napoli (@sscnapoli) July 14, 2015
Perché lo abbiamo fatto ? Perché alcuni importanti giornali scrivevano che stavamo trattando la vendita di Gonzalo a 50 min (continua)
— Official SSC Napoli (@sscnapoli) July 14, 2015
È' strano che alcuni giornalisti navigati non capiscano un concetto così semplice e non indirizzino chi magari è distratto #SSCNapoli
— Official SSC Napoli (@sscnapoli) July 14, 2015
For those who don't speak Italian, the mini-rant translates like so:
On June 25 we announced that the release clause on Higuain’s contract was €94.736 million.
Why did we do this? Because some important newspapers were writing that we were negotiating to sell Gonzalo for €50 million.
It is strange that some experienced journalists don’t understand such a simple concept and do not redirect those who are perhaps distracted.
That is, as the hip kids would say these days, "spitting hot fire." Or maybe they wouldn't say that. I don't know. I was never a hip kid.
The key, though, is that Napoli are putting themselves even more firmly in their stance of "pay the release or go the **** away." It's an admirable stance to hold to, especially with so much money involved, but we'll have to see how that plays out. Maurizio Sarri very much wants to keep Higuain around and involved in the side, but De Laurentiis seems perfectly happy to take the money and buy a bunch more players with it.
Things are definitely starting to feel a little strange -- and strained -- on the Higuain front. It's not clear what's going to happen right now, and that's not the most comfortable position to be in as a fan.