How fallout with Peseiro almost made me quit Super Eagles — Ekong

Super Eagles of Nigeria defender William Troost-Ekong has revealed that a clash he had with Jose Peseiro nearly made him quit the national team weeks before the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

Troost-Ekong under Jose Peseiro captained Nigeria to the final of the AFCON 2023, where they eventually lost 2-1 to hosts Côte d’Ivoire at the Stade Olympique Alassane Ouattara on February 11, 2024.

The Super Eagles star was named the Best Player of the Tournament for an impressive outing that saw him score three goals and become the first defender since Cameroon’s Rigobert Song in 2002 to claim the prize—a feat that almost eluded him due to his revealed clash with Peseiro.

Troost-Ekong in his recent chat with CNN World Sport confessed that he was subbed for Nigeria’s World Cup qualifier matches against Lesotho and Zimbabwe in November 2023 due to a disagreement with Peseiro, and he consequently almost retired from the national team.

“[It] resulted in us not actually speaking for a few months,” the 30-year-old POAK defender told CNN World Sport.

“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].

“I deserved to give my younger self a better ending. So that was the thing that changed my mind … I think my career has always been a testament to not giving up.”

Currently recovering from a surgery following a hamstring injury he suffered during the AFCON 2023, Troost-Ekong is the subject of interest from clubs in the Saudi Pro League ahead of the summer transfer.