Belgian Mertens bids farewell to Italian club Napoli after 9 seasons in its ranks

Belgian international striker Dries Mertens, the best scorer in the history of Italian Napoli, confirmed his official departure from the ranks of the southern team by publishing a video on social media today.

Martens, 35, appears in the video, with his son Ciro sitting on his knees and heading to his club by saying, "Dear sons of Naples. I knew that this day would come, but I did not know how difficult it would be to say goodbye to this city that embraced me, loved me and supported me in difficult and happy times as well. ".

He concluded, "My departure did not take place as I wished, but for me it is not a final departure, but rather a meeting," noting that he would keep his home in Naples.

The Belgian international (105 caps with 21 goals), whose contract with Napoli expired on June 30, did not reach an agreement to renew it.

Over the course of nine seasons, Mertens succeeded in becoming the top scorer in the history of Naples with 148 goals in various competitions, ahead of Lorenzo Insigne (112 goals), who moved to Canadian FC Toronto, Slovakian Marek Hamsik (121) and the late Argentine legend Diego Armando Maradona (114). ).

He won the Italian Cup twice in the ranks of the southern team, in 2014 and 2020, and after he refused an offer to move to Juventus, there were reports in the Italian newspapers about the possibility of joining the Turkish Galatasaray.

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