Aurelio de Laurentiis has indicated that he will only attract African players if they decide not to participate in the Africa Cup. The flamboyant Napoli president made his statements on Italian television, in which he clearly indicates that he is not a fan of the biennial tournament. “Don’t talk to me about African footballers anymore.”
Napoli has two players in the selection who are important for their country, André-Frank Zambo Anguissa (Cameroon) and Victor Osimhen (Nigeria). In addition, the Senegalese Kalidou Koulibaly was under contract until this summer i Partenopei, where he emerged as a world-class defender. At the beginning of this year, Napoli had to give up Zambo Anguissa and Koulibaly, while Osimhen looked on with an injury.
De Laurentiis says he wishes the players the best. “But either they sign a declaration that they distance themselves from the Africa Cup, or I don’t need them anymore. We are idiots if we pay their salaries and still have to miss them.” The Africa Cup is often played in the first months of the calendar year, due to the heat in June and July in Africa.The question is how strong De Laurentiis is, as FIFA requires all clubs to hand over internationals to national teams.
Haggling over the transfer of players for the Africa Cup is nothing new. For example, in the most recent edition of the Africa Cup Nigeria could not have Emmanuel Dennis in addition to Osimhen. According to his club Watford, the Nigerian Football Association’s application for him to participate in the tournament came too late. With Kelechi Iheanacho as the final attack leader, Nigeria stranded in the eighth final.
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