Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis admits the appointment of coach Carlo Ancelotti has been years in the making.

Ancelotti, after a rocky start, now has Napoli producing winning form at home and in Europe.

De Laurentiis told the Corriere dello Sport: "We had years of telephone contacts, and once in a while Carlo asked us about our footballers and I with him of his own. And when he sensed that there would be no margins for negotiations he did not insist.

"If I talk about football, he is not offended: before Liverpool, in the morning, I called him and so, I have expressed opinions and he with grace, authority and integrity, he said: 'Be assured, do not worry, we win it'.

"I took him at his word and at the 87th I said, 'But what happens now?' Well, it happened. You cannot know my reaction."