Former Napoli director Giorgio Perinetti has revealed that the club almost signed AC Milan hero George Weah, only for an unnamed executive to pull the plug on the move.
The Liberian, who won the Ballon d’Or in addition to multiple other individual honours throughout his successful career, spent five successful seasons at the San Siro after joining from Paris Saint-Germain in 1995.
However, things could have been much different if Perinetti had gotten his way in 1992 when the Partenopei came agonisingly close to signing Weah themselves, before he came back to haunt them months later in the UEFA Cup.
“I really wanted to bring Weah to Napoli and we had practically completed the signing. Everything was agreed but there were certain people within the club who didn’t agree,” the current Genoa general manager told Il Secolo XIX.
“So in the end, the move didn’t happen and he joined PSG instead. Then in the UEFA Cup, we came up against PSG and he scored two goals at the San Paolo and we lost 2-0.
“After that, I turned to those who didn’t want to sign them and just told them two little words…”
Perinetti was involved in the Napoli hierarchy for a spell between 1987 and 1993.
