Diego Maradona convinces Garnacho to quit Man Utd for Napoli

Carlo Garganese

• Updated: 15 Jan 2025 11:45 GMT
• 4 min read

Alejandro Garnacho is tempted to join Napoli due to Diego Maradona's connection with the Italian club.

That is according to former Napoli and Argentina star Daniel Bertoni, who played with Maradona for both the club and the national team.

Bertoni believes that Maradona's status as a God at Napoli - having led the club to two Scudetti and a UEFA Cup during a legendary spell in Campania from 1984 to 1991 - could push Garnacho to make the move there.

Napoli are currently in negotiations with Man Utd for Garnacho, who would be a replacement for Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who is set to join PSG this week.

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What did Bertoni say?

“Garnacho is not Maradona, let’s be clear," Bertoni said on Radio Kiss Kiss.

"If you ask an Argentine about Naples he will always say yes, maybe the choice of the new destination will also be based on that.

“I hope Garnacho arrives and makes Napoli fans dream.

“Diego? He loved Naples, but his homeland was Argentina. You cannot say that if he had stayed in Naples he would still be alive today."

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Napoli manager Antonio Conte revealed on Saturday that Kvaratskhelia has asked to leave the club immediately.

He is currently in advanced talks over a transfer to PSG for a fee in the region of €65-75m.

Napoli have opened talks with Man Utd over Garnacho to replace the Georgian winger.

An initial bid of around €45m, including add-ons, has already been rejected by United.

It is reported United are asking for around €60-70m in order to sell.

Garnacho has been unsettled at Old Trafford for some time, and has fallen out of favour under new manager Ruben Amorim.

Amorim sensationally dropped him for the Manchester Derby and, although he has returned to the fold since then, he is not an important player for the Portuguese coach.

Garnacho at Man Utd

The 20-year-old Garnacho was one of the few bright lights of Erik ten Hag’s tenure at Manchester United.

He was one of the breakout stars in the Premier League in 2022-23, making eight goal contributions from 10 starts and 29 appearances.

He had a string of memorable performances, including the winner against Real Sociedad in the Europa League which made him the youngest foreign player to ever score for Man Utd in European competition.

Garnacho broke a string of records, and also starred in the Manchester derby, assisting Marcus Rashford’s winner in the 2-1 victory over Man City.

Last season Garnacho continued to impress, with 10 goals in all competitions. He scored in the 2-1 FA Cup final win over Man City, hit a memorable brace in the 4-3 victory over Chelsea and scored the goal of the season with a stunning bicycle kick against Everton.

This season Garnacho has seen his star shine less bright, with just three goals and one assist in 19 Premier League games.