Aurelio De Laurentiis congratulated Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly on winning the Africa Cup of Nations with his national team Senegal, suggesting that the 30-year-old was right to snub a France call-up.
Senegal won the first international trophy in their history by beating Egypt on penalties in the Africa Cup of Nations Final last night.
Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis congratulated his defender on Twitter this morning.
“Great Koulibaly! The loyalty to his origins was rewarded and have made him an even greater champion,” the 72-year-old wrote.
Koulibaly has a French passport and was eligible to play for France in the past. The 30-year-old played with Les Blues’ U20 squad but then picked the senior Senegal national team making his debut in September 2015.
Koulibaly joined Napoli in a €7.7m deal from Genk in 2014.
He has played 19 games at a club level this season and his contract at the Stadio Maradona runs out in June 2023.
Grande @kkoulibaly26 ! Premiata la fedeltà alle sue origini che gli fanno onore e lo hanno reso ancora di più un grandissimo campione #ADL pic.twitter.com/sC8JePRT2A
— AurelioDeLaurentiis (@ADeLaurentiis) February 7, 2022
He was literally born in France, grew up in France and started playing football in France. Chose to play for Senegal. Which roots is he referring to?
Had he chosen France he would have won the world cup 🤨
@chris… The root and the origin is Africa, while? Because it is where he’s blood comes from (the parent). Likewise Kante, he’s parent are from Mali not born in France. Everyone with their choices bro
Kante was born in Paris France
@chris
People like you are probably the reason why he doesn’t want to represent a european national team.
By that same token, some way down the line we’ll all be traced back to Africa and the country you’re born is completely irrelevant?
@chris…Yeah yeah, always the same story…when someone is good, Europeans wants to claim them but once they do something wrong, you guys realize they are African and they are black.
The entire French team is literally an African team and that’s still not enough because they were born in France, they should all forget where they come from?
Both Chris and Stan make me angry as a Frenchman with an African-born father…
Chris because he thinks that you can have only one nationality, the fact that KK is born in France doesn’t prevent him from feeling Senegalese as well (remember that he chose Senegal thanks to his French wife) and Stan because he’s spitting the same thing panafricanists say… The only ones in France who ever made me feel like a foreigner are… foreigners!The team isn’t an African team, it’s a French team with roots in Africa (and also in Philippines, Portugal, Spain, Italy)
We shouldn’t judge any of this choice from the binationals, the only thing that disturbs me in De Laurentiis’ homage is that he seems to undermine the choice of binationals who chose France.