Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis has taken a new dig at Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri.

De Laurentiis says he found the veteran coach too intense.

“I chose Sarri against everyone's advice. At the time, the city was covered in banners protesting my decision," insisted ADL.

“He had a way of making himself adored even by the most extreme fringes of the fanbase. He's an individualist, someone who suffered in the lower leagues on pitches with no grass and the odd stone. He'd also suffer because he tended to be fired after six games.

“Then he had that run from Serie C to Serie A with Empoli and when we lost 4-2 against him, I thought he might be the right man for us.

“I had also wanted Mihajlovic, but he didn't convince me, as he was too energetic and forced the players to follow him."

Sarri, now at Chelsea, is famous for his chain-smoking and grumpy demeanour, as well as a fanatical devotion to his work.

“On the other hand, Sarri seemed timid and I discovered he was so dissatisfied with his past (working in finance). For a communist to base his profession on the evils of money brought him to suffer from a syndrome of dissatisfaction.

“I found Sarri to be very highly-strung. His wife couldn't even come to the stadium. I used to say to Sarri, who shall we buy? He'd reply that he didn't want to know anything about it."