De Laurentiis claims new Napoli stadium would ‘take 24 months’ and slams Milan patron Cardinale

NAPLES, ITALY - JULY 14: Aurelio De Laurentiis SSC Napoli president as Massimiliano Allegri is unveiled as the new SSC Napoli head coach at Teatro di San Carlo on July 14, 2026 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)

Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis outlines plans for a new stadium, warning ‘the Stadio Maradona ought to be demolished,’ and reveals he wanted to ‘throw out’ Milan owner Gerry Cardinale during a meeting.

The fiery patron and Hollywood movie producer took Napoli from bankruptcy to two Scudetto titles in recent years, and has been trying for some time to get a new arena built on the outskirts of the city.

This is very much at odds with the local authorities, who have instead pressed on with plans to refurbish the existing Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, formerly known as the Stadio San Paolo.

De Laurentiis has big plans for Napoli

“I have a letter of intent signed a month ago with Q8, who identified 38 hectares in east Naples,” said De Laurentiis during an event today.

“I planned a 70,000-seater stadium, with 120 sky boxes, restaurants and all the rest. In addition, there will be an interactive museum, created with my agent in Los Angeles, where it’ll be possible to virtually play in a match with whoever you want: Maradona, Cavani, Higuain.

“It will take time and millions of dollars, along with a museum dedicated to Maradona. Otherwise, it’s like the Mayor who wants to intervene on the current stadium hoping that in a year’s time it will be considered a historic monument so it can’t be knocked down.

“That is a stadium that needs to be demolished. The Region wants to invest €150m and the council another €50m, but that won’t do anything to the problems of the Stadio Maradona. I’ve called it a toilet more than once, so what can they do with €200m?

“If they want to have fun, let them do it, but I will continue to play there only until I have built the new stadium. It won’t take a lifetime, just 24 months.”

De Laurentiis also revealed an encounter he had with RedBird and current Milan patron Cardinale, although it wasn’t entirely a successful meeting with the man who took over from Elliott Management.

“I invited Cardinale to dinner three years ago, he tried saying things that I did not even try to object to, otherwise I’d have had to throw him out. He said things that in my view were all over the place.

“This was an owner who had the requirements of a financier and not a real entrepreneur. Say what you like about my cinema, but we do everything in house, from the ideas to the marketing and distribution.

“That is not something that Cardinale understands, because he and the other funds invested money in order to bring profit back to their investors. If after a while they haven’t earned, then what benefit was brought? None.”

Milan and Inter are both now owned by American funds, but are seeing more progress when it comes to building a new stadium, even if it did take 10 years of legal battles and failed projects.