NAPOLI players and staff are still yet to be paid this season, according to reports.
The Serie A club is undergoing a poor spell of form on the pitch and continues to be hit by the coronavirus pandemic off it.
Gennaro Gattuso is among the staff to have not been paid this season, it is claimed[/caption]
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, players are unhappy that they have gone without pay since July.
A deadline has been set by Italian football authorities to send out the first payments by December 1.
Coach Gennaro Gattuso is another who has reportedly not been paid, in a situation blamed on the pandemic crisis.
It was reported earlier in the year that the Italian had taken a pay cut to help the club avoid staff redundancies.
Yet the Azzurri still pulled off the signing of Victor Osimhen for an initial £45million in the summer, while keeping hold of Manchester City target Kalidou Koulibaly.
Napoli have been one of the many clubs hit by the virus, with two positive tests leading to the club forfeiting a clash with Juventus last month.
Kalidou Koulibaly has remained with the Italian club despite plenty of transfer interest[/caption]
The club refused to travel to Turin off the back of Piotr Zielinski and Elif Elmas being diagnosed with the illness.
It resulted in a bizarre moment in which Juve turned up for the game as normal before being awarded a 3-0 victory.
In recent weeks, the Neapolitans have struggled to maintain their initial strong start to the season.
AZ Alkmaar claimed a 1-0 win at Stadio San Paolo in the Europa League before Sassuolo and AC Milan damaged their Serie A title credentials.
Rumours of a dispute between Gattuso and his players after the 3-1 defeat to Milan on the weekend have been downplayed.
But Napoli face Rijeka on Thursday knowing they have to win or risk failing to qualify out of a competitive Group F.
I see an attitude I don’t like and it hurts me. We need to sort this out as soon as possible.
Gennaro Gattuso
Following Sunday’s loss to league leaders Milan, Gattuso confessed: “I am the ultimate person who is responsible and every time we get to a big game, something happens.
“We’ve got to raise the bar, it’s my problem, as evidently I can’t get the team to approach certain matches the right way.
“We think too much about what’s missing, what we don’t do, what went against us. It’s not bad luck. It’s that we don’t approach these games with the right determination, because technique and quality aren’t enough.
“I’ve been talking about this for months now. I see an attitude I don’t like and it hurts me. We need to sort this aspect out as soon as possible.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
