Aurelio De Laurentiis on Antonio Conte's Future at Napoli

Aurelio De Laurentiis has never been shy of a headline, but on Antonio Conte he is crystal clear: Napoli’s project, in his eyes, is not about to lose its architect.

Conte arrived at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in 2024 with a demanding brief – rebuild a fractured squad and restore a champion’s mentality. He delivered instantly. Last season’s Serie A title did more than decorate the club’s trophy cabinet; it reset expectations in Naples and gave De Laurentiis a manager he believes is tied to the club by more than ink on paper.

“Antonio Conte is a very serious man. He has a contract with me. He will never abandon me at the last minute,” the president said, speaking to The Athletic.

For De Laurentiis, this is not just about loyalty, but about ownership of the work already done. Conte, he insists, has shaped this side in his own image.

The president pushed the metaphor further, underlining how personal the project has become for his coach. “Because it will create for Napoli a big problem. If he sacrifices himself after two years of creating a very strong Napoli… it is also his creation. So he will ‘kill his baby’, abandoning him just at the last minute.”

That is the emotional core of the club’s stance: Conte has built something, and walking away now would mean tearing down his own work. Yet even De Laurentiis knows there is one job that can unsettle the firmest commitments in Italian football – the national team.

He did not dodge that reality. “Or… he decides immediately and says ‘I would like to go’,” De Laurentiis continued. “Then I have the time during April and May to find somebody else to make the substitution. Otherwise, I don’t think Mr Conte will ever abandon Napoli. He’s a serious, professional man. If I was a coach, before to accept, I will think 100 times.”

There it is: a door not fully closed, but one that must be opened early if it is to be opened at all. De Laurentiis is adamant he will not be left scrambling in the summer. If Conte wants the Azzurri, he must say so in time for Napoli to react.

The president has even floated a more unusual solution. Earlier this month, at the Los Angeles screening of the Napoli documentary “AG4IN”, he suggested he would be prepared to share his coach with the country. “Conte to the national team? Yes, I think I’d lend him if he asked me,” he said, hinting at a potential ‘loan’ arrangement that would keep Conte in Naples while allowing him to lead Italy.

For now, though, the noise around the future sits in the background. On the pitch, Conte’s Napoli are still chasing. They are second in Serie A with 66 points from 32 matches, nine behind leaders Inter Milan. The margin is significant, but not enough to switch off the competitive instinct that defines Conte’s career.

Six games remain. To apply any pressure on Inter, Napoli know they must treat each one as a must-win. The mission is simple, if unforgiving: take 18 points, then see where the chips fall.

Next comes Lazio on Saturday, another test of how far this “very strong Napoli”, as De Laurentiis calls it, can push in the final stretch. Titles, contracts, national-team talk – all of it can wait. Conte’s answer, for now, will be written on the touchline.