Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has claimed that Gonzalo Higuain 'betrayed' the Italian club by completing a move to Juventus.
Earlier this week, it was confirmed that Juventus had agreed to pay Higuain's release clause - £75.3m - to bring the Argentine international to the Serie A holders.
De Laurentiis, however, is frustrated that Higuain decided to depart Naples this summer, claiming that the 28-year-old has shown "ingratitude".
"Some people say that to speak of betrayal is exaggerated, but I think the opposite because there is the full sense of betrayal in this choice because of the ingratitude shown," De Laurentiis told Corriere dello Sport.
"Obviously I have to consider the role played by Juventus, but I expected a different kind of behaviour [from Higuain]. True, there was the clause so there was no formal impropriety... but the unscrupulous nature of football means there is no respect for sentiment.
"We understood, as soon as Higuain's brother spoke, that we might run the risk of having to look for a new centre-forward. But we didn't think that risk was serious, or that he could simply wipe clean his three years spent with Napoli."
Higuain, who had two years left to run on his Napoli deal, set a new Serie A scoring record last season when he hit 36 league goals in a single campaign.
Matt Law
