Napoli appointed Carlo Ancelotti as its new manager on a three-year contract, replacing Maurizio Sarri in the post.

The former AC Milan manager has been out of the game since leaving Bayern Munich last September, but he replaced Maurizio Sarri on Thursday (AEST) after a season in which Napoli was beaten to the Scudetto by Juventus.

Ancelotti, who won the Serie A title once as Milan coach, is hopeful that his "knowledge and experience" can help Napoli topple seven-time defending champion Juve.

"I'm very happy to return to my country and to one of the greatest teams in Italy," he said in a statement on his official website.

"We come to compete and give Napoli all our knowledge and experience. We are thrilled by this challenge and to open a new stage in football.

"I want to thank the president for trusting me in a project that I love and for the chance to get to know one of the best clubs in Italy. To the fans, I say that we will work hard and very professionally to reach our goals that we all want.

"I hope we can all enjoy this together."

Ancelotti had been linked with a return to Milan and the Italy national team job before arriving at Napoli in place of Sarri, who is reportedly be set for a move to Chelsea.