Naples President Aurelio De Laurentiis has announced he will no longer sign any African players unless they sign an exit deal African Cup of Nations‘.
Earlier this year, Senegalese defender Kalidou Koulibaly, who recently joined Chelsea, appeared at this year’s Africa Cup of Nations alongside Cameroonian midfielder Andre Zambo Anguiza.
The pair missed several Napoli games between January and February while on business with the national team.
A few months later, De Laurentiis appeared on the live broadcast Wall Street Italy When he gave his thoughts on African players taking part in the biennial tournament.
“I told them boys, stop talking about Africans to me!” De Laurentiis said at the event Via Italian Football.
“I love them, but either they signed something confirming that they would withdraw from the Africa Cup of Nations, or between the World Cup qualifiers in South America, these players will never play!
“We’re idiots, paid just to go around the world and play for someone else.”
Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis has said he does not want more Africans at the club unless they commit in writing not to play in the Africa Cup of Nations.pic.twitter.com/GBfO865zVg
— Sam Street (@samstreetwrites) August 2, 2022
ESPN The 73-year-old was quoted as saying: “Or they sign a waiver giving up their right to play in the Africa Cup of Nations Championships or between AFCON and South American Championships.
“I never had them [Napoli players] usable. “
In conversations with the WSL, De Laurentiis also claimed to have rejected an offer from US investors to buy Serie A team Napoli for $900 million.
“In recent years, these investment funds have become popular, and they have to guarantee investors a certain return over five years,” he said.
“They see football as a great opportunity and they can increase their investment by selling the club to an investment fund. That’s what Milan and Inter have done, right?
“I was hit with funding and I couldn’t take it anymore. In 2017-18, a US fund offered $900 million to sell Naples. But they didn’t realize I was a pure entrepreneur who likes to play games, so let me keep playing .”
