New Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly said that Aurelio De Laurentiis, owner of his former club Napoli, should respect African national teams like other teams, following his comments on the African Nations Cup.
De Laurentiis said last Tuesday that he would no longer sign African players unless they agreed to miss the African Nations Cup, because its establishment in the middle of the season deprived Napoli of its players.
Coulibaly, who spent eight seasons at Napoli before moving to Chelsea and leading Senegal to the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations when he was a player at the Italian club, said most fans did not agree with De Laurentiis.
"For me the most important thing is to respect everyone," Koulibaly told reporters. "You can't talk about an African team like that. You have to respect these teams as you respect the rest of the national teams. I don't think everyone in the club has the same idea as the owner of the club. I know everyone there as well as the fans and I think they They don't think like that."
Failed attempt to join Chelsea
In an interview published yesterday, the 31-year-old said De Laurentiis had not allowed him to leave Napoli in 2015 when Chelsea tried to sign him.
"I spoke with the owner respectfully and told him I wanted to leave for Chelsea but he told me it wouldn't be possible. So I waited a bit and kept talking to them but they didn't want me to leave the club so I decided to renew my contract to stay in Napoli," Koulibaly told the Guardian.
With the fulfillment of his childhood dream, Coulibaly knows that his chances of winning major titles with Chelsea will be stronger, and the Senegalese defense captain said, "From my personal experience, I know that you do not have to put an end to your dream, and my dream is to win everything with Chelsea. I know it will be difficult. "I'm not arrogant. I have a lot of respect for everyone, but I know Chelsea are a big team that competes for trophies and they are used to winning trophies."