Friday marked the 40th anniversary of the first cinepanettone – a genre of comedy movie released in Italy around Christmas time each year. Vacanze di Natale was produced by Aurelio De Laurentiis, the man who would go on to become president of Napoli 21 years later. The story goes that he was unimpressed at first, worrying that the jokes were not funny enough, but its lampooning of Italy’s nouveaux riche struck a chord. A tradition was born.
De Laurentiis was the one throwing money around this weekend, signing Victor Osimhen to a new contract worth €10m a year after tax. It theoretically ties the Nigerian to Napoli until 2026, though a reported €130m release clause would not put him out of reach of football’s wealthier buyers.
