Liverpool’s Champions League tie with Napoli could take place over 160 miles away from Stadio San Paolo

• Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has requested permission to have game played in Bari

• Seats in the Stadio San Paolo do not meet UEFA standards and Napoli have to play away

He told Corrierre dello Sport: ‘For me, it’s a nightmare. Such a bad stadium limits the status of Napoli at an international level.

‘It’s a shame. For this reason, I say enough: I don’t want any more controversy, so I’ll build my own stadium.

‘And that’s that. We can’t go on like this anymore. Nobody can tell you to do anything if you put in your own money and have the land to build a stadium.

‘In the meantime, I’ve asked UEFA to authorise us to play Champions League matches at Bari.

‘I’ll pay for 1,000 buses out of my own pocket so Napoli fans can attend the match.’

Napoli originally chose Palermo’s stadium as their preferred destination for European matches but De Laurentiis has since purchased Bari following their fall from Serie B to Serie D due to financial reasons.

De Laurentiis’ son, Luigi De Laurentiis Jnr, is the club’s current chairman.

‘One thing is for certain – Bari will not be an appendix of Napoli, but they will be run as a separate entity, with separate efforts,’ De Laurentiis said last month.

‘We cannot mix Napoli and Bari, which are two separate cities, each with their own history and their own fans, who must be respected.’