In a surprise twist, Napoli captain Marek Hamsik’s move to Dalian Yifang may no longer go ahead after the Italian club revealed they were ready to pull the plug on the deal.
The Slovakian appeared all but certain to end his 11-and-a-half year stint in Naples by joining Chinese Super League outfit Dalian in a deal worth €20 million, including bonuses.
However, a statement released by Napoli on Wednesday suggested that the move had collapsed, with a disagreement over the structure of the payment of the transfer fee appearing to be the sticking point.
“The club has decided to suspend Marek Hamsik’s move to China because the payment methods proposed for the agreed sum fail to adhere to what was previously agreed,” Napoli announced on their official Twitter account.
Il Calcio Napoli ha deciso di soprassedere alla cessione di Marek Hamsik ai cinesi poiché le modalità di pagamento della cifra pattuita non collimano con gli accordi precedentemente raggiunti #ForzaNapoliSempre
— Official SSC Napoli (@sscnapoli) February 6, 2019
Hamsik is Napoli’s record appearance maker and goalscorer, with 120 goals in 520 matches for the Partenopei. The 31-year-old helped the club to the Coppa Italia in 2012 and 2014.
