World Football: Palermo's President Thinks Napoli Is Better Than AC Milan?

Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini is known for saying things that are just downright stupid, making it no surprise that he said something incredibly stupid yesterday.

Napoli's vice-captain Marek Hamsik revealed the other day that he would want to play for AC Milan, saying that it would give him the opportunity to win trophies.

"I'm young, but I still haven't won anything. Not a league championship, not a cup competition. I would say that it's time to win something now," Hamsik said.

"Massimiliano Allegri and Adriano Galliani have praised me and joining Milan would be the turning point of my career."

Milan have never declared formal interest in the Slovakian superstar, but there is speculation that he may be a candidate for the mysterious man known as Mr. X, a star midfielder whose identity has yet to be disclosed. It is believed that he is pricey and will arrive sometime in mid to late August.

Milan have actually not declared formal interest in anyone for the most part, the exceptions possibly being the three signings so far: Taye Taiwo, Philippe Mexes, and Stephan El-Shaarway. Santos players Ganso and Danilo and Genoa's Kucka are among the few others that have seen the Serie A champions express pursued interest.

While the idea of Hamsik to Milan is starting to look slightly more like a possibility, Zamparini, who really has no reason to be commenting at all, has lashed out at AC Milan, saying that Napoli is far better for Hamsik than Milan.

“I don’t think Milan will pay out for Hamsik, as they don’t have much money,” Zamparini told Radio Kiss Kiss. “Besides, Naples is 10,000 times better than Milano, both in terms of the cities and the clubs.”

Wait, what?

First of all, you cannot possibly tell me that Marek Hamsik is worth more than the roughly $71.5 million US that the Rossoneri have available for the summer mercato. That is absurd. There are so few players that I would ever actually consider dishing out that much money for. Fernando Torres' ridiculous move to Chelsea was worth $80 million and Zamparini actually thinks that Hamsik is actually close to that? He honestly cannot be for real.

Also, there is really an argument about the better team?

Milan, 17 Scudetti, seven since 1990, seven Champions League titles, and the 2010-11 Serie A champions beat Napoli twice.

Napoli, two Scudetti, both when Diego Maradona was on the Naples club in 1987 and 1990, as well as one UEFA Cup title, also when Maradona was on the team in 1989. Napoli lost to Milan 3-0 and 2-1 this year.

As if this highly illogical statement was not enough, he then goes on to criticize the owner of Milan himself, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Palermo's Javier Pastore's name has come up in whispers regarding AC Milan's transfer targets, but the rumors died down very quickly. That did not stop Zamparini from criticizing Berlusconi about it.

“Pastore to Milan? Berlusconi doesn’t have a lot of money. He, instead, likes the beautiful girls more than calcio players,” he said in the interview. He believes that Palermo's 22-year old Argentine is worth $72-86 million US! This is absurd when you think that that is 10 times as much as the club paid for him in his move from Huracan only two years ago.

We all know the transfer window is always filled with rumors and speculation, but this little rant by Maurizio Zamparini makes it a whole lot of fun too. This is one of the stupidest interviews I have ever read and gave me quite a laugh.

Hamsik and Pastore may be two of Serie A's top players, but neither of them are worth over $70 million dollars! That is simply crazy.