“No one can stop me from representing Senegal.” – Kalidou Koulibaly responds to Napoli president

Kalidou Koulibaly is a new Chelsea defender who has said he would not be prevented from playing football for Senegal.

After the president of his former club, Napoli, claimed that he would only acquire African or South American players who were willing to forgo national team competitions, the captain of Senegal said that African nations deserved greater respect.

Aurelio de Laurentiis, the president of Napoli, reportedly told the business website Wall Street Italia, “Don’t talk to me about Africans any longer.

I wish them luck, but they must forgo their right to compete in the African Cup.

“These guys are never accessible between that competition and the World Cup qualifications in South America!”

But Senegal captain Koulibaly, who earlier this year captained his nation to victory at the Africa Cup of Nations, was unimpressed. Koulibaly joined Chelsea from Serie A team Napoli for an estimated £34 million ($41 million).

During a news conference on Wednesday, Koulibaly stated, “Nobody ever instructed me not to go to AFCON or something like this.

“Perhaps on sometimes they try to contact my manager or someone similar.

“But me, now that I’m Senegal’s captain, I have to be the first one there, the first one in Senegal, when AFCON comes,” he said.

Following the consortium led by American investor Todd Boehly’s takeover of Chelsea, Koulibaly, who has committed to the club for four years, continued: “No one can prevent me from attending my national team.

My affection for my national team, the team I play for, is really strong.

So, the only time I could fight someone would be if they instructed me to do that.

“We treat one other with respect, we wait for players to arrive from the Premier League, and everyone is thrilled to be here, just like we always do with my national team.

“Everyone on the national team shares my perspective. They would constantly fight to come if someone advised them not to.

“This is the most crucial factor. Everyone needs to respect us.