Fabio Quagliarella was close to tears after earning Sampdoria a draw against Cagliari on Sunday and then recounting how a stalker had turned his life into a "night-mare".

Quagliarella joined his hometown club Napoli from Udinese in a five-year, $19 million deal in 2009.

He scored 11 league goals in his 34 league matches at Napoli, but hopes of staying on were ended when the former Italy international began receiving threats that left his family fearing for their lives.

Raffaele Piccolo, a former police officer, was eventually investigated for blackmailing Quagliarella and his family. He had sent letters to Napoli, claiming the player was involved in organized crime, paedophilia and drug trafficking.

Following a lengthy investigation, Piccolo was jailed on Friday for four years and eight months.

"A huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders," an emotional Quagliarella said after scoring Samp's equalizer in its 1-1 draw at home to Cagliari. "It was the reason I left Napoli. It was a dream move for me, I was at my hometown club, but I couldn't leave the house myself or with my family after receiving threats that suggested anything could happen at any moment.

"It turned my life into a nightmare."

Barely a year after his big-money move to Napoli, Quagliarella stunned fans when he moved to Juventus on loan, eventually signing permanently for the Turin giant in June 2011 before switching to Torino and later Sampdoria.

"It's hard. People judge you without really knowing the truth," added the 34-year-old, "but you can't say anything during an investigation."