Maurizio Sarri claims the Italian Super Cup has nothing to do with sport, saying it’s only about “just taking the money and running.”

As his Lazio squad gets ready to go to Saudi Arabia for the competition, Maurizio Sarri attacked the redesigned Italian Super Cup on Sunday, calling it nothing more than a money-grabbing exercise.

This Thursday marks the first time the Super Cup will include four clubs competing when Lazio plays Inter Milan in the second semi-final at the KSU Stadium in Riyadh.

At the same venue on Wednesday, Napoli will play Fiorentina to begin the competition.

Sarri said, “Everyone knows what I think: we’re just taking the money and running, this tournament has nothing to do with sport.”

“We’re carrying our headgear as we travel the globe. We then choose to have a four-team Super Cup despite all of the issues we have with full schedules.

The Serie A champions and the Italian Cup winners have competed in the Super Cup before this season; in January of last year, Inter Milan defeated AC Milan handily in the Saudi capital.

This year, in a similar move to the Spanish Super Cup, which is also being held in Saudi Arabia, it involves the two cup finals as well as the top two teams from the previous season in Italy’s premier division.

Lazio came in second behind champions Napoli in June, and after defeating Lecce 1-0 on Sunday, Sarri’s team is now sixth in Serie A.

Saudi Arabia has spent extensively in sport in recent years, with the Gulf State’s Pro League stealing prominent stars from the main European leagues owing to the support of the country’s sovereign wealth fund.

But the monarchy has come under fire for allegedly “sports washing” its human rights record by using big events.