Mertens’ video: record views, De Laurentiis criticisms, affection

It will not be a day to remember for Aurelio De Laurentiis on August 3, 2022: the social storm for his “Enough African footballers” related to their use in the continental tournament caused a sensation. Then, in the evening, it arrived Mertens’ farewell video in Naples and to Napoli which went viral and generated two reactions: a crazy wave of affection towards the Belgian from the Azzurri fans and at the same time new criticism of the work of the Napoli president who in the last period was certainly not tender with the club’s all-time top scorer (remember the story of ‘vil pecunia …’).

TREND

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The way in which Mertens chose to greet people of the Neapolitan faith struck the heart. The #Mertens hashtag was trending on Twitter, the video received millions of views and was reported by hundreds of thousands of people. More and less famous Neapolitans (from Marco d’Amore to Salvatore Esposito di Gomorra passing through Andrea Sannino) have commented on the Instagram profile of the football player from Leuven, almost all the teammates of the present and the past (including Koulibaly) have done the same and – considering that Mertens has made it clear that he has not divorced Napoli in the way he would have liked – the reactions of his colleagues in the locker room represent an important attestation.

IMMORTAL

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Among the fans there are those who admitted to having shed a few tears and those who let themselves go to another trendy hashtag # A16 (which basically invites De Laurentiis to leave Naples for Bari). Even the Lega Serie A – through its official profile – has dedicated a little heart to him. By the way, Mertens is about to say goodbye to Italy – even if he will keep his home in Naples – and he will soon formalize the name of the team in which he will be the protagonist. Hypotheses are wasted, Dries certainly did not accept Juve’s tight court and this makes him immortal for the Neapolitans.