Key points
- Aurelio De Laurentiis went on a remarkable rant about signing African players
- 73-year-old rues paying players to compete AFCON in the middle of the season
- Napoli’s two African players are Victor Osimhen & Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa
Aurelio De Laurentiis, the president of Serie A team Napoli, has disclosed his side will not sign African players unless they meet the requirements of his side.
After not giving an interview for five months, De Laurentiis made headlines once again earlier this summer by calling the 2022 World Cup ‘super bulls*** of the century’.
He also said he never wanted to sack Gennaro Gattuso last year after just 18 months in charge blaming the move on failed contract talks.
‘I never wanted to sack him. At some point I had to worry about what would happen if the situation worsened. I called [Luciano] Spalletti who gave me his availability.
‘I told the team to work, because the manager had the confidence of the club. I talked to [Jorge] Mendes about renewing his deal but we couldn’t agree.’
The 73-year-old says he ‘loves’ Napoli’s African players, but he rues having to pay them so much for the amount of time they are away.
Victor Osimhen of Nigeria and Andre Zambo Anguissa of Cameroon both presently call Napoli their home. Another African player at Napoli was the Senegal defender Kalidou Koulibaly, who departed this summer to join Chelsea.
De Laurentiis asserts that the club won’t be looking for African players until they sign a document agreeing to boycott the Africa Cup of Nations.
“I told them lads, don’t talk to me about Africans anymore!” said De Laurentiis during a streamed event as quoted by Football Italia.
Last season Napoli lost Kalidou Koulibaly to the AFCON and the centre-back went all the way with Senegal and won the tournament. The 31-year-old has now signed for Chelsea.
Former Fulham man Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa represented Cameroon at the tournament while he was on loan at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
After not giving an interview for five months, De Laurentiis made headlines once again earlier this summer by calling the 2022 World Cup ‘super bulls*** of the century’.
He also said he never wanted to sack Gennaro Gattuso last year after just 18 months in charge blaming the move on failed contract talks.
‘I never wanted to sack him. At some point I had to worry about what would happen if the situation worsened. I called [Luciano] Spalletti who gave me his availability.
‘I told the team to work, because the manager had the confidence of the club. I talked to [Jorge] Mendes about renewing his deal but we couldn’t agree.’
