Champion Mario Rui’s Contrast Has Been Terminated. What This Means for Napoli
Now that Napoli has announced that the club and Mario Rui have decided to terminate the wing-back’s contract, Gli Azzurri is left without one of the essential players in the team’s Scudetto campaign. But what does it mean for Napoli’s season and future?
Mutual Decision to Terminate Mario Rui’s Contract
Just before the end of 2024, Napoli made an official statement regarding the status of Mario Rui’s contract. It was announced that the deal would be terminated by mutual consent. Starting with 2025, the Portuguese defender is a free agent.
This was an unusually emotional statement from the club. However, this was an unusually important player of which we are speaking. The press release read: “Every sprint, every tackle, every battle on the pitch. Thank you, Maestro, for wearing the blue shirt with Pride.”
Why is Napoli Allowing Mario Rui to leave on a Free?
Simply put, under Antonio Conte’s tenure, Mario Rui has gone from being one of the team’s most important players to being a rare presence in the starting line-up. The Portuguese have made very few appearances. The last two were in the Coppa Italia.
The wing-back played no role in Serie A games this season. Mario Rui’s final time wearing a Napoli jersey was in the Coppa Italia defeat to Inter Milan when he played just 16 minutes.
Conte has preferred to use Uruguayan defender Matthias Oliveira since the start of the season. Oliveira can fit more naturally in the 3-5-2 system often used by the manager. This is the most playing time that Oliveira has received since joining the club from Getafe in 2022.

What is Napoli Losing with the Departure of Mario Rui?
First, and most importantly, Napoli is losing a leader. Mario Rui played his greatest season of football in the 2022/23 campaign.
In that season, Luciano Spaletti managed to get the best out of the Portuguese wide defender, and Rui was one of Napoli’s finest players in a Scudetto-winning year.
Few had foreseen this when Mario Rui joined AS Roma in July 2017. Early form was shakey and the Portuguese was not the first choice starting player for a very long time.
Under Spaletti’s management, Mario Rui was able to play his natural, attack-minded style of football.
Napoli loses a player known for excellent passing and crossing from the flank with his departure. Rui is also a good set-piece taker, makes great choices under pressure, and understands the team’s tactics intricately.
Long-Term Replacement for Mario Rui
Napoli was able to get seven seasons and 173 games out of the deal to the now 33-year-old defender to the South of Italy. Who’s his long-term replacement?
Antonio Conte seems happy, at the moment, with Oliveira’s performances. Yes, he’s getting the best out of the Uruguayan, who is 27 years old. Time will tell, however, if the player is able to maintain the same standard as Napoli’s desire to win trophies and compete at the highest level becomes higher.
For the time being, there are no plans to bring in a new left-back. Conte knows that he is working under a budget. Besides, at the moment, the priority has to be to transfer a centre back in the January window to replace Alessandro Buongiorno.
Either way, one thing is clear – for the average Napoli supporter, Mario Rui will always be among the immortal players who made the 2023 Scudetto possible.