A new investor could soon knock on Aurelio De Laurentiis’ door. Matt Rizzetta, director of the investment fund Underdog Global Partners and owner of Napoli Basketball, has great ambitions for Neapolitan sport. In an interview given to TMWthe Italian-American businessman explained that he wanted to build a true multi-sport organization under a single brand. “We own Napoli Basketball and our vision is to create a formidable multi-sport organization, propelling Naples to the top of world sport, under one brand”he explained. From this perspective, Napoli Calcio would represent a major part of his project, even if the club currently remains the property of De Laurentiis.
Already the owner of the Campobasso club in Serie C (and in the past Ascoli), Rizzetta nevertheless assures that he is ready to take action if the Neapolitan president considered a sale. “If he wanted to sell on fair terms for both parties, we would be ready”he said, specifying that the operation would be mainly financed by several large American sports funds, with significant personal participation on his part. The investor even puts forward significant figures to give weight to his ambitions. “At present, our group and our financiers, mainly large American sports funds, have around 1 to 1.3 billion euros available”he revealed. Rizzetta indicates that it has already informed De Laurentiis of its availability, while recognizing that the latter has no obligation to sell. It remains to be seen whether the Napoli boss will be willing to open the door to a change of ownership.
