Napoli released a statement today saying they were looking into taking legal action against their own players after they defied President Aurelio De Laurentiis' orders to remain at the club training camp all week.
It's been a tough start to the season for Napoli, who for the past couple of seasons have been the closest challengers to Juventus' Serie A dominance. However, despite spending big in the summer on the likes of Hirving Lozano and Kostas Manolas, they sit seventh in the league, eleven points off the pace.
The team's poor form led De Laurentiis to point the finger squarely at the players, saying: "The problem lies in teamwork and harmony. That depends on the players, who need to find motivation."
His decision was then to keep the squad at Napoli's Castel Volturno under pre-match conditions for the whole week up until the international break.
This is where the problems started. Carlo Ancelotti, while agreeing to De Laurentiis' orders, openly stated he disagreed with De Laurentiis' actions.
Meanwhile, the players themselves ignored the directive, leading to Napoli releasing their statement today, which said:
"The club announces that, with reference to the behaviour of the players yesterday, Tuesday November 5 2019, it will proceed to protect its rights on an economic, capital, image and disciplinary levels in every competent jurisdiction.
"It is also made clear that the responsibility to decide on ordering days in a training retreat lies with coach Carlo Ancelotti.
"A press silence has been ordered from now until a date yet to be decided."
And things could get worse for Napoli, with Gazzetta dello Sport reporting that De Laurentiis is also in discussions with his legal team about sacking Ancelotti.
A strange situation in Naples, and one that could end up completely derailing Napoli's season.
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