Aurelio De Laurentiis, the president of Napoli football club, is facing new legal challenges as he has been placed under investigation for alleged false accounting related to the transfer of Greek defender Kostas Manolas. The investigation, conducted by the Rome Prosecutor’s Office, focuses on the €36 million transfer of Manolas from Roma to Napoli in the summer of 2019.
Calciomercato report that the inquiry is part of a broader investigation into suspected fictitious capital gains used to inflate club balance sheets through irregular financial operations. This case is connected to a previous investigation involving the transfer of Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen to Napoli in 2020.
The Rome Prosecutor’s Office has concluded its investigation, which was led by prosecutors Lorenzo De Giudice and Giorgio Orano. The Economic and Financial Police Unit (PEF) of the Guardia di Finanza in Rome has been carrying out a series of checks on the exchanges between the clubs involved.
De Laurentiis’ lawyers, Lorenzo Contrada and Fabio Fulgeri, have stated that their client is ready to be heard by investigators to clarify the entire matter. This willingness to cooperate suggests that the Napoli president is keen to address the allegations and provide his perspective on the transfer dealings.
The Manolas transfer was a significant move in the 2019 summer transfer window, with the then 28-year-old Greek international being Napoli’s second most expensive acquisition that year, following the €45 million purchase of Hirving Lozano from PSV Eindhoven.
At the time of the transfer, Roma announced that they had sold Manolas to Napoli for a fixed fee of €36 million. This deal allowed Roma to record a substantial capital gain of approximately €31.1 million in their financial statements for the year ending June 30, 2019. It is this financial aspect of the deal that has now come under scrutiny.
The investigation into the Manolas transfer adds another layer of complexity to the ongoing scrutiny of football transfers and financial practices in Italian football. As the case develops, it may have implications not only for Napoli and De Laurentiis but also for how transfer dealings and their financial reporting are conducted in the future.
