Nicolas Pépé speaks about his non-selection for the AFCON in Morocco on NCI: “The coach called me before his press conference. I didn’t answer.
He called me twice, and I didn’t pick up.I wanted him to understand that there was no point in calling me at that moment because it was too fresh — the squad list had just been released.
So whatever he was going to tell me wouldn’t have gone down well. It wasn’t the right time to talk.
At the time, he understood that too, because he had already spoken to me beforehand about the fact that we would see each other for the AFCON.
So he understood my reaction, didn’t insist, and I think we spoke again two days later.
Then he explained the reasons behind it. Basically, he made me understand that it wasn’t his decision, that it was beyond him, and that just a few minutes before announcing the list, I was still included in it.
I said: OK, it’s done, it’s done. After that, I spoke with the President and stayed in a bit of contact with the coach before they entered the competition.”