Kevin De Bruyne was told to ‘f*** off’ repeatedly during Napoli’s 4-1 thrashing against Porto on Wednesday, with a dressing room crisis heating up at the club.
The Napoli squad has become increasingly fractured in recent weeks, according to the Italian media, with an ‘every man for himself’ culture developing into a ‘disaster’.
Napoli sit eighth in Serie A under new manager Massimiliano Allegri – just two seasons after winning the title under Antonio Conte – and are near the bottom of the Champions League table after three defeats in four games.
Their cracks are showing on the pitch, with striker Lorenzo Lucca yelling at De Bruyne: ‘Why are you speaking? F*** off!’ during their Porto drubbing.
The pair squared up to each other and Lucca shouted his expletive command three times before they went their separate ways.
After the match, Matteo Politano told Sky Sport Italia: ‘It would be nice if a few other teammates came here to give an explanation and not just us Italians, but never mind, I never hide my face.’
Kevin De Bruyne was told to ‘f*** off’ three times by team-mate Lorenzo Lucca during Napoli’s 4-1 defeat by Porto on Wednesday
There is said to be a rift developing between Napoli’s native stars and foreign players
La Gazzetta dello Sport reported that Politano was calling out Cameroonian star Frank Anguissa and Kosovan Amir Rrahmani, both two-time title winners with the club.
Politano added: ‘The attitude is one that a team like ours cannot have at this level. I was not attacking anyone, we have a squad that is struggling, but we need to come together and think about this next game before the break for international duty.
‘Hopefully we can recover a few players during that spell and then our season can really begin.’
There is a ‘divide’ between the Italian group of players and foreigners, La Gazzetta dello Sport reports, though it is mostly down to frustration with results.
Individuals such as De Bruyne, Rasmus Hojlund, and Stanislav Lobotka are more ‘reserved personalities’ who have reportedly not bonded as well with their team-mates away from the field.
Scott McTominay, who has an ally in fellow Scottish player Billy Gilmour, said after the Porto loss: ‘Of course I’m angry.
‘We lost 4-1 in the Champions League; there’s nothing to smile about. For us, it’s go on and try to figure out how to fix it.
‘We’ve had a lot of injuries, a lot of important players you can’t change; attacking players as well. Let’s not beat around the bush; we’ve got a lot of injuries, and that makes a big difference whenever you come into play every three days.
Napoli have had a rough start to the season under new manager Massimiliano Allegri – despite him being a legendary coach in Italy
‘So, things like these can make a huge difference for the team when the same players are playing over and over again. People need to understand that, but we also need to do better. First and foremost, we need to do better, injuries in football are part of it, but we have too many.’
Napoli have nine players out injured.
Their dressing room troubles have dragged on for a while. Last season, Conte complained of a lack of unity after they signed nine players on the back of their Scudetto. They still managed to finish second, but it was a turbulent ride.
‘Nine new players were too many. We weren’t balanced,’ he said at the time.
‘I experience the dressing room every day, so I say certain things; we mustn’t despair. We’ll try to recreate last year’s chemistry.’
In one match against AC Milan, De Bruyne threw a tantrum after being subbed off by Conte.
