No more African players in Naples? Club owner De Laurentiis made it clear

Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis said on Tuesday that he would not sign any more African players to take part in the Africa Cup of Nations. The 33-year-old owner says he “loves” African players but does not want to pay them while they are away.

Aurelio De Laurentiis has said Napoli no longer plan to sign players from Africa. The reason is the African Cup of Nations, which will cause them to miss a lot of club matches. However, the player has the option to sign a contract with Napoli if he does not represent his country at the aforementioned championship.

Senegalese defender Kalidou Koulibaly, who transferred to Chelsea missed several games for Napoli due to this year’s AFCON, which was held from January to February.

“I like them, but either they sign something to confirm that they will withdraw from the African Cup of Nations or else between this tournament, the World Cup qualifiers in South America, these players are never available,” he said on the Wall Street Italia talk show.

He criticised the fact that clubs are agreeing to more and more matches and suggested that instead of a Champions League, Europa League and European Conference League, there should be European tournaments with the best clubs from the top five countries.

“The world of football cannot govern itself because we are making a puppet show for others… if we could play 100 games, it would be a happy ending for everyone and we [clubs], like assholes, agree with that.”

Super League

The Italian owner has also said he does not support the European Super League, which broke up less than 48 hours after its announcement last year.

“You can’t create a superleague that invites others [to join the league]. You have to democratically leave the door open to everyone.”

De Laurentiis added that he does not want to receive any more offers from investment funds, adding that US investors offered him 900 million euros about four to five years ago.

“You [the bidders] have not understood anything at all. I am a pure entrepreneur who likes to do business… let me play. I want to be the 12th player on the pitch,” he said.

AFCON is held every two years and lasts for about a month in January. The 2021 tournament was played this year because COVID prevented it from being held the previous year. Zo means the tournaments will be held retrospectively, with the 2023 edition taking place in January next year.

Source:: ESPN