Koulibaly responds to Napoli president's criticism of African players
Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly has responded to statements made by Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis, criticizing the idea of signing African players.
The Napoli president recently stated that he will no longer include African players, saying: "I will only do it if they give up participating in the African Cup... We pay them so that they go to play in the middle of the season."
"It is up to him ... if he wants to say this, but for me it is always important to respect everyone," Coulibaly told a news conference.
The former Napoli player added: "When I was in Napoli, I also participated with Senegal and won the African Cup of Nations when I was playing there.. It was really a difficult moment for them when we went to the Africa Cup of Nations, but we won it and I am really happy."
"We just want to respect the African teams like the European teams," he added.
He continued: "As a captain of Senegal, I think this is not a good way to talk about a national team, but I respect his ideas, and if he thinks that the team can play without African players it is up to him. I think these are not the ideas of everyone at the club."
He concluded: "I know everyone there, I know the fans... they don't think like that, I know some people who are part of the club and the team and they don't have the same ideas. It's not the idea of the community or the city there because the city respects everyone."
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