Napoli President De Laurentiis: Players older than 23 should not play for national teams

NAPLES, ITALY – MAY 26: Aurelio De Laurentiis, President of SSC Napoli, celebrates the victory of Serie A TIM during the SSC Napoli Trophy Parade on May 26, 2025 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)

Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis calls for a change of the ‘game’s rules and the leagues’ formats’ and argues that players should only be allowed to play for their national teams until they’re 23.

Napoli President De Laurentiis attended the National Italian American Foundation Gala in Washington on Sunday, where he shared his view and offered possible solutions to the increasing number of games played each season.

“Europe must change because the time has come,” De Laurentiis told Class CNBC.

“The football chiefs are reluctant to change because they fear losing their seat. On which they sit very, very comfortably. But the time has come to change both the game’s rules and the leagues’ formats.

De Laurentiis: ‘There should be a cap for international players’

“There are too many games, and I think footballers will no longer be able to play 50, 60 or 70 games [per season],” continued De Laurentiis.

“They haven’t understood that there should be a cap for international players. After you’ve turned 23, you can no longer go with the national team, because you have to discover the new ones.

“If you even play those who are over-30, and they get injured, you are kicking the domestic leagues in the shins, and there’s no respect for these leagues.

“Furthermore, there isn’t sufficient fee for the loan of a player who, for 12 months, is paid by clubs. This should also be regulated.”

Napoli’s results in De Laurentiis’ era

De Laurentiis’ Napoli sit second in the Serie A table, just one point below leaders Napoli.

This past Saturday, they suffered a 1-0 away loss at Torino and tomorrow, Tuesday, October 21, they visit PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League Round 3.

De Laurentiis bought Napoli in 2004 after the club had gone bankrupt. In three seasons, Napoli were promoted from Serie C1 (third division) to Serie A.

Napoli have gone on to win two Serie A titles in the last three seasons, under Luciano Spalletti and Antonio Conte.