Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis has defended not registering Piotr Zielinski for the Champions League.

Zielinski, who will leave when his deal expires at the end of the season, will not be part of Napoli's Champions League squad.

“We had to keep into account all the restrictive components for squad lists that are not our fault," said De Laurentiis.

“At a certain point, we had to leave Zielinski out. We know perfectly well what he is capable of giving to the team, but the fact remains, he will not be our player after July. So we need to focus on the real investment and that means Hamed Traore, as we must work out whether or not to activate the release clause.

“This is what investment is about rather than seeking victory at all costs. I have to learn from the errors of the past and the things that did not work.

“I read some said this was revenge, but absolutely not. I already said, he is a splendid person, a good lad and a top level player. However, decisions have been made, so seeing as he will not be with us from July, we must use this time to evaluate possible opportunities.

“We had wanted to do the same with Dendoncker, but there was unfortunately no room for him in the squad."