William Troost Ekong Opens Up To Jose Peseiro On Rift Before AFCON 2023
The 30-year-old defender scored three goals and was a key member of Nigeria's team that advanced to the continental competition final in Ivory Coast.
Ekong revealed, according to Complete Sports, that he had been out of communication with Peseiro for some time after the Super Eagles manager injured his pride and ego.
“It resulted in us not actually speaking for a few months. That was the time where my pride and ego, I think maybe got the better of me. I thought about stopping.
“Thankfully, I've got a good group of people around me who took me out of it. It made me think about my younger self and, how much it meant and how proud I was to play my first game for Nigeria.”
Following Nigeria's 2023 AFCON silver medal victory, Ekong was named the tournament's Player of the Year.
Reasons behind Ekong and Peseiro's rift
Ekong, meanwhile, missed a full year of action with the Super Eagles due to his negative reaction to being benched in favor of younger defenders.
The PAOK defender was benched, in Nigeria's last AFCON 2023 qualifying match against Sao Tome and Principe in September.
A disagreement with manager Jose Peseiro nearly prevented William Troost-Ekong from being included in Nigeria's 2023 Africa Cup of Nations squad.
The following month, the team played two 1-game draws to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and Ekong was completely left off of the squad for those matches against Lesotho and Zimbabwe.
Prior to reconciling with the former Nigerian coach, Peseiro did not include the vice captain of the Super Eagles in his squad for the international friendlies against Saudi Arabia and Mozambique.
Offer for Peseiro increased by NFF
Following their inability to come to a consensus prior to Peseiro's previous contract expiring, the NFF has extended an enhanced contract offer to him, according to Sports Brief.
A substantial rise from the $50,000 he was paid under his prior contract is reportedly being sought by the 63-year-old manager, who is reportedly looking for a salary in the neighborhood of $120,000 in addition to pay for his first assistant.
The former assistant manager of Real Madrid has received an offer from the NFF worth roughly $80,000 in response. In addition, it was mentioned that John Enoh, the current Minister of Sports, who is close to Peseiro, has approved of this offer.
Coach José Peseiro resigned from his position as head coach of the Super Eagles, indicating that things didn't go as planned. Currently, Austin Eguavoen serves as the acting head coach.
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