Following a historic season that saw them win their first Scudetto in more than three decades, Napoli are struggling in the Serie A. Team president Aurelio De Laurentiis admitted he’s not pleased with Rudi Garcia’s work so far, revealing he called many coaches before naming Luciano Spalletti’s replacement. Luis Enrique was one of them.
The Spaniard, however, ended up taking the reins of Paris Saint-Germain, where he’s already being questioned by the press. The results haven’t been great so far, but the team’s style of play hasn’t been convincing either.
PSG are third in the Ligue 1, two points behind leaders Monaco, while they’re only below Newcastle in Group F of the UEFA Champions League. Even so, De Laurentiis seems to be relieved he didn’t hire Enrique.
De Laurentiis grateful Luis Enrique took over at PSG instead of Napoli
With Spalletti leaving Naples after a successful campaign, De Laurentiis said he called several managers before hiring Garcia, who is now on the hot seat. Luis Enrique was one of his candidates.
“I interviewed Thiago Motta, but he didn’t want to take the risk of replacing a coach who had achieved so much,” De Laurentiis said, via Repubblica. “I called Luis Enrique too and luckily he went to France. Look at the results he’s having. He didn’t convince me during a round of talks that lasted three days. I called many coaches.”
The former Barcelona coach, who led the Catalan side to the treble in the 2014-15 season, return to the dugout at PSG this season after falling short with Spain in the 2022 World Cup.
How many trophies has Luis Enrique won as manager?
Luis Enrique has achieved 9 titles as a coach, all of them at Barcelona.
- Copa del Rey x3 (2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17)
- LaLiga x2 (2014-15, 2015-16)
- UEFA Champions League x1 (2014-15)
- Club World Cup x1 (2015)
- UEFA Super Cup x1 (2015-16)
- Spanish Super Cup x1 (2016-17)