De Laurentiis wants Benitez to stay five more years

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has revealed he has offered coach Rafael Benitez the chance to stay at Napoli for five more years.

Benitez is out of contract at the Stadio San Paolo at the end of the season and has been noncommittal over his future.

There has been talk of Sampdoria coach Sinisa Mihajlovic taking over from Benitez should the Spaniard not sign a new deal with the Serie A club.

But De Laurentiis told Radio Kiss Kiss: “There’s always been great respect and even friendship between myself and Benitez.

“If Benitez stays, I’ll be the happiest man in the world, if not we’ll find someone else.

“I’ve told Benitez he can stay for another year, or another five. Perhaps a good solution would be for his family [who live in England] to live in Rome, which is just two hours from Naples.

“If he wants to stay for another five years that would make me happy. Benitez told me he’ll talk with his family and we’ll meet again on Saturday.”

De Laurentiis also confirmed that full-back Christian Maggio will sign a new contract.

“I met with [sporting director Riccardo] Bigon and we agreed the renewal for Christian Maggio for another three years,” De Laurentiis added.

“He has experienced a great journey with us and this reciprocal gift is well-deserved.”