De Laurentiis: Abete ‘not a good fit’ for FIGC President role, Malagò has just one ‘flaw’

“I called Malagò, telling him to take charge of the situation because no one can do this better than him,” De Laurentiis said via TMW.

“He’s an entrepreneur and a sportsman with plenty of experience. The only flaw is that he’s in love with Roma, but we’ll put up with that, too,” he added, smiling.

“We are tired of being led by people who have institutional roles just for personal prestige. The most important thing in life is to work, but to do that, you need knowledge. Nobody more than an entrepreneur who does business can fix things that don’t work. From my perspective, Mr Malagò is welcome.

ROME, ITALY – DECEMBER 01: Giancarlo Abete President of LND poses during the FIGC DCPS press conference at Europa Experience on December 01, 2023 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images)

“Abete is a dear friend and a person I truly respect. His brother is a business partner in one of my companies, but he’s not a good fit for this job,” De Laurentiis continued.

“Perhaps, he’ll be upset, but we are accustomed to expressing our thoughts in a democracy, even if Italians, by nature, are cowards.

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, ITALY – MARCH 15: Giovanni Malago, President of the Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 delivers a speech during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympic Games closing ceremony at Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium on March 15, 2026 in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. (Photo by Mattia Ozbot/Getty Images)

“We wait for Malagò and hope his ideas match ours. Football in Italy has to be rebuilt. They say I’m a visionary, but I came from the world of cinema in 2004, and I’ve been annoyingly saying since then that everything’s old and that kids wouldn’t watch matches anymore. But nobody is there to listen because everyone is just thinking about their seats.”