Apparently Napoli are taking the concept of selling high a little too far.
Sky Sports have reported that Manchester City are the second club to price out of a move for the Uruguayan striker.
Napoli have held firm to their stance that any club wishing to purchase the highly-coveted striker will be required to trigger his €63 million ($83 million) release clause.
Last week it was reported by Sky Italia that Chelsea had bid €40 million plus Fernando Torres, but that was rejected by Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis who said he wanted straight cash to trigger the release clause. Chelsea then submitted a €52 million straight-cash bid which was turned down, and the London club declared that was their final offer.
Chelsea have since turned their efforts towards an attempt at prying Robert Lewandowski from Borussia Dortmund.
Now, de Laurentiis himself confirmed City have pulled out of contention for Cavani, saying the Sky Blues “do not have money to pay for Cavani because they say ‘we won’t pay that.’”
Real Madrid remain in contention according to reports, with Cavani’s father endorsing that particular move a while back, but as each top club drops out, de Laurentiis finds himself without another oasis of funds to potentially tap.
It’s understandable Napoli want to hold firm on their valuation of their 26-year-old goal machine, but if de Laurentiis fails to compromise at least a little, he may find himself stuck with a striker who wishes for bigger things and no money to show for it.