Kalidou Koulibaly hits out at Napoli president over AFCON statement

Kalidou Koulibaly has denounced Aurelio De Laurentiis's intentions to need new acquisitions to consent to skipping the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

The contentious rule was put forth by De Laurentiis on Tuesday, who stated that any African player who joined the Serie A team should pledge to forgo the competition.

It will be interesting to see if he follows through on the plan and if it is legal.

Cote d'Ivoire will host the 2024 edition of the AFCON in January.

During the event that took place in January and February of last season, Napoli was missing Senegal defender Koulibaly and Cameroon international Andre-Franck Zambo Anguissa.

Koulibaly, who has since moved on to Chelsea FC, felt De Laurentiis was out of line with his remarks, and claimed the views would not be endorsed by many others at the club.

“Its up to him if he wanted to do this, but for me the most important thing is to respect everybody,’’ he told a news conference in London.

“When I played there, I was playing also for Senegal, and I won the AFCON with Senegal when I was playing with Napoli.

“It’s true that it was a difficult moment for them when we went to AFCON, but we won it and I’m really happy today.’’

Koulibaly added: “You cannot speak for African national teams like this, I think. You have to have respect, like you have for other national teams.

“As captain of Senegal, I think that this is not a good way to speak about African national teams.

“But I respect what he thinks. If he thinks the team can play without African players, it’s up to him. But I think not everybody has the same idea as him at the club.

“I know that some people who are part of this society and team do not have the same idea as him. It’s not the idea of the society or the city, because the city is very respectful.’’