SSC Napoli of Italy striker, Victor Osimhen is currently out injured, but his club remain in the news with remarkable tidings following them, and the Naples-based Italian Serie A club have now been declared good enough to sign on Argentine ace, Lionel Messi, megasportsarena.com reports.
While mourning still continues among fans and officials of Osimhen’s club, over the death of their legendary Argentine icon, Diego Armando Maradona, who led the club to their only two Seir e A titles in 1988 and 1991, a suggestion has come for the team to also hook Messi in 2021.
This is the verdict of former Barcelona of Spain and AC Milan of Italy Ghanaian midfielder, Kevin-Prince Boateng, who has urged Messi to make a switch to Napoli in relieve the gracious days of his older progenitor, who the club’s stadium has been officially renamed in honour of after his death last week at the age of 60.
While Maradona is gone but his memory lingers in Naples and beyond, Boateng believes Messi can follow suit on all levels as he says the six-time Ballon d’Or winner, who he played alongside after signing for Barcelona on a short-term loan deal in 2019, can make his mark in the twilight of his career with more heroics in Italy.
Although the former Ghana international got only five appearances alongside Messi with The Catalan giants during his time at Camp Nou, he admitted he enjoyed the little time he had with the Argentine ace, who could still be heading for Barca’s exit door despite failing with his bid to leave in the summer.
With Messi running down the final few months of his Barca deal, the 33-year-old Argentine is free to negotiate with other clubs from January onwards, and Boateng, who now plays for AS Monza in the Italian lower division, believes his former teammate can enact the Maradona-type of legacy at Osimhen’s club.
Boateng told ESPN: “Messi should go to Napoli after his contract with Barca expires in June 2021. He could say ‘I would like to honour Maradona’s No. 10 and go and play a year or two at Naples, without thinking about money, but the heart.
“It would be like a movie. He would have to go training by helicopter, because people would eat him alive and he would be very happy.”
Dramatically, Boateng’s words came after veteran Italian coach and current handler of Sampdoria in the Italian Serie A, Claudio Ranieri disclosed that he tried to sign Maradona for Napoli some years back, but he failed in his bid to convince the maverick star of stepping out of retirement in 1991 and join Osimhen’s club.
Ranieri, who recently coached Super Eagles’ defender, Chidozie Awaziem at FC Nantes of France, told Sampdoria’s website: “I think it’s a wonderful gesture. As well as being a world champion, Maradona was the soul of Napoli in a way, giving the whole population life in football terms.
“The first year I went to Napoli as a coach, Ciro Ferrara and I tried to convince Maradona to return, We spoke to him twice when we were in pre-season training, but he had already decided to retire. It was very disappointing, because I would’ve loved to coach a player like him.”
