Napoli stars including Man Utd transfer targets Dries Mertens and Koulibaly strip off with dancers for bizarre calendar

FOOTBALLERS are hardly shy in front of a camera as Napoli stars proved when shooting the club’s new calendar this week. Big name players including Manchester United targets Dries Mertens and Kalidou Koulibaly stripped off and posed with a number of dancers for the Serie A side’s 2020 offering. The bizarre promotional video sees the […]

FOOTBALLERS are hardly shy in front of a camera as Napoli stars proved when shooting the club’s new calendar this week.

Big name players including Manchester United targets Dries Mertens and Kalidou Koulibaly stripped off and posed with a number of dancers for the Serie A side’s 2020 offering.

The bizarre promotional video sees the duo joined by other Napoli players in striking poses with the barest of fabric to protect their decency.

Napoli, who pick a different theme for their calendar every year, say this year’s choice of cohesion and brotherhood is designed to show the international background of the club.

“Napoli fans are not just Neapolitan or Italian, but also Spanish, Mexican, Senegalese and from many other countries” head of operations, sales and marketing Alessandro Formisano said of the campaign slogan ‘One City. One Club. One World.’

The launch of the calendar comes in the same week that Napoli, who sit seventh in the Serie A table, sacked Carlo Ancelotti.

His dismissal came shortly after Napoli reached the last 16 of the Champions League and he has since been replaced by former AC Milan man Gennaro Gattuso.

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Along with a host of other candidates, Ancelotti has been linked with a move to Arsenal in recent weeks.

The Gunners are in the market for a long-term successor to Unai Emery after they sack the Spaniard last month and Ancelotti joins the likes of Mikel Arteta, Marcelino and Patrick Vieira as a potential appointment.

Arsenal will not have it all their own way should they pursue the three-time Champions League winning manager who guided Chelsea to the double in 2010 during his previous spell in England.

The 60-year-old is also on Everton’s shortlist after they relieved Marco Silva of his duties and placed Duncan Ferguson in charge on an interim basis.

He flew into London on Friday to hold talks over potentially taking over at Goodison Park with Everton owner Farhad Moshiri and chairman Bill Kenwright.