Rome, July 30: Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis says Argentine striker Higuain "disrespected" the Italian football club's fans by leaving for Serie A rivals Juventus for 90 million euros ($98.9 million).

De Laurentiis on Friday responded to Higuain with a letter posted on the club's website saying the 28-year-old's accusation that the president was the reason he left for Juventus is disrespectful to Napoli fans, reports Efe.

"Trying to explain his departure by blaming me is disrespecting the people of Naples. You can betray these people if you have no shame," De Laurentiis said in a statement.

The president also stressed that Higuain was always comfortable with him in the last years in Napoli.

"We spent a lot of time together, even recently. I can assure you that Gonzalo was very calm and showed no sign of intolerance of me, as the people who were with us could testify," he said.

"How is it that his agent didn't show any sign of impatience towards me when we met last year to discuss the renewal of his contract? If they were so intolerant of my presence, they would not have spent hours discussing money, lots of money, with great interest."

He added that the club, which the Argentine player and his agent said was not up to Higuain's standards, was always ready to improve his contract until his move to Juventus in a five-year deal.

"Does his agent not have any shame when he says that the team he (Higuain) played in, that gave him the service to score 38 goals, wasn't good enough?

IANS