Football
Ben Gladwell, Italy correspondent 7y

Gonzalo Higuain points finger at Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis

Gonzalo Higuain pointed at Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis in his celebrations after scoring to help Juventus reach the Coppa Italia final on Wednesday.

Higuain joined Juve from Napoli in the summer for a Serie A record fee of €90 million, with his departure angering fans of his former club.

Shortly after moving to Turin, he said it was De Laurentiis "who pushed me into making" the decision.

He added: "I'd like to thank the fans and my teammates, but not De Laurentiis. I no longer had a relationship with him. I couldn't stand another minute with him."

He scored twice against Napoli in a 3-2 Coppa win and, after putting the Bianconeri in front, made a gesture towards the area where De Laurentiis was sitting.

His brother and agent Nicolas wrote on Twitter, in tweets that were later deleted but reported by Corriere dello Sport: "How much I love seeing your face, Aurelio De Laurentiis, each time that my bro scores.

"I'm loving this defeat. See you next time."

La Gazzetta dello Sport suggested Higuain was pointing at De Laurentiis to emphasise to Napoli fans that he was the only reason he had left the club.

Before leaving the field after his prematch warmup, Higuain applauded fans who were whistling him and repeatedly pointed toward the president.

De Laurentiis had accused the 29-year-old of betraying Napoli and their supporters by leaving.

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