Victor Osimhen might miss his second Africa Cup of Nations in a row if Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis has his way.
The Super Eagles striker was unable to feature at the last AFCON in Cameroon in January after breaking his facial bones while playing for Napoli and undergoing surgery.
Now, De Laurentiis has declared that Napoli’s African players will not be allowed to participate in the continent’s most important tournament.
De Laurentiis said last night he would never again sign an African player ‘unless they sign an agreement backing out of the Africa Cup of Nations’.
“I told them lads, don’t talk to me about Africans anymore!” De Laurentiis said during a streamed event last night.
“I love them, but either they sign something confirming they’ll back out of playing the Africa Cup of Nations, or otherwise between that tournament, the World Cup qualifiers in South America, these players are never available!
“We are the idiots who pay salaries only to send them all over the world playing for others.”
Apart from Osimhen, Napoli have Cameroon’s Andre Zambo Anguissa on their books.
Zambo Anguissa attended the last AFCON on his home soil and helped the Indomitable Lions win bronze, while new Chelsea signing Kalidou Koulibaly was a Napoli player in February when he captained Senegal to their first-ever AFCON title.
There has been a long-running battle between European clubs and African national teams over the release of players for the tournament, which is usually played in January and February, right in the thick of the European season.
The next AFCON is billed for Cote d’Ivoire in January and February 2024, which will also be in the middle of the European club campaign.
Incidentally, Osimhen said recently that he had no intention of leaving Napoli despite reported interest from the likes of Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United.
“I’m very happy at Napoli, I feel really good here. This city makes me happy,” the 23-year-old Nigeria international told Corriere dello Sport in July.
De Laurentiis also revealed he had turned down an offer from American investors ready to pay $900m to buy Napoli.
“In recent years these investment funds have become fashionable, they have to guarantee their investors a certain revenue within five years,” he said.
“They saw that football is a great opportunity and they can double their investment by selling clubs to investment funds in future. That’s what Milan and Inter have done, right?
“I am assailed by funds, I can’t take it anymore. In 2017-18, an American fund offered me $900m to sell Napoli. But they don’t realise I am this pure entrepreneur who enjoys playing the game, so let me keep playing.”
