Kalidou Koulibaly has issued a strong response to Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis following his comments on the reliability of African players.
The Chelsea defender, who joined the Blues from the Serie A club in the summer, was asked about recent comments from De Laurentiis where he suggested he wouldn’t sign a player from Africa again.
In an interview with Wall Street Italia, quoted by Gazzetta dello Sport, De Laurentiis said: “Enough Africans, or they give up playing the African Cup.
“I won’t buy any more for this reason. We pay the salaries to send them out to play for the world in the middle of the league.
Koulibaly missed part of the 2021/22 season as he guided Senegal to Africa Cup of Nations glory in January and February.
But he insists he has absolutely no regrets about leaving his club to play in the tournament and urged De Laurentiis to show more respect.
“It’s up to him,” Koulibaly said of De Laurentiis in a press conference. “For me, the most important thing is to respect everyone. I always respect everyone.
“When I played there, I also played for Senegal and I won the CAN. It’s true that it was a difficult moment for them when we went to the CAN, but I’m really happy today (to have won).
“We also have to respect the national team. You can’t talk about an African national team like this, I think. You have to have respect like you have for other national teams.
“As the captain of Senegal, I think it’s not a good way to talk about the national team, but I respect what he thinks. Whether he thinks the team can play without African players is up to him.
“But I think not everyone in the club has the same idea as him. I know everyone there, I know the fans and the fans don’t think like that.
“It’s up to him, but it’s not an idea of the city’s society, because the city is really respectful. That’s what he thinks, not what the city or society thinks.
Asked if he had ever been approached to discuss not playing for Senegal at CAN during his career, Koulibaly replied: “No, never. No one ever told me not to. go to the CAN Maybe sometimes they tried to ask my agent, but with me as the captain of Senegal, even as a Senegal player, when the CAN comes, I want to be the first there .
“In December, I was injured, so I came early to Senegal to start my training with the team. I was really happy and excited to start AFCON.
“No one can tell me not to go to my national team. I have a lot of love for my national team, for my country, for the people I play for. If someone tells me not to go , it’s the only time I will fight with someone.
“We are all respectful. We waited for everyone to arrive from the Premier League a bit late, but when everyone arrived everyone was happy to be there. I think in Africa we all think like that. We have respect for everyone, but if someone tells them not to come, they will all fight to come.
“That’s the most important thing, and everyone has to respect us like we respect everyone else.”
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