Gonzalo Higuain has blamed Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis for his decision to to join Juventus.
The Argentina international, who was the leading goalscorer in Serie A last season with 36 goals, completed a €90 million move to the Serie A champions this week, after agreeing a five-year contract worth a reported €7.5m per season.
De Laurentiis said he felt “betrayed” by Higuain’s departure, accusing the striker of being ungrateful towards Napoli.
But Higuain has offered his version of events and said that he and the president never got on.
“My relationship with him was never good because his way of thinking was not like mine,” he said at his official presentation in Turin on Thursday. “My choice also came about because he pushed me to make it.
“Now I’m very happy here and I thank Juve for their great effort to get me.”
Higuain also explained that he moved to Juve because of the club’s winning mentality and for the opportunity to win some silverware.
“I chose Juventus for its winning mentality. There’s an exciting project here. It’s my aim to have a great season,” he said.
“I decided to join Juventus because I felt it was the best choice for me. This club is built for winning.
“Juventus is a club where the collective counts for more than the individual players.
“I want to show my worth here and win as many titles as possible.”
That's all from @G_Higuain but #PipitaLive does not stop there… pic.twitter.com/vdJJIg4BXU
— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) July 28, 2016
Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri admitted feeling “bitter” about Higuain’s decision to leave, not least as he was not consulted about the move.
“I was expecting at least a phone call, even if it was just for five minutes before he had his medicals,” he told Corriere dello Sport.
“But I’m old enough not to be surprised. The lads also expected a farewell. As far as I know, there was nothing.”