‘The best African players represent Villarreal’, club president Roig says

The best African footballers are those ones who represent La Liga side, Villarreal, according to club president Fernando Roig.

Since the Yellow Submarine was founded 98 years ago, several players from African countries have represented the with names like Ikechukwu Uche (Nigeria), Karl Toko Ekambi (Cameroon), and Cedric Bakambu (DR Congo) coming to mind.

In the 2020/21 season, Nigeria international Samuel Chukwueze played a starring role as Villarreal beat Manchester United to win the Europa League.

“For me, the best [African] players are those ones in Villarreal, and at the moment, we have got good ones in my team,” Roig told Goal.

“All the African players in Villarreal are very important and we are enjoying them in the team, and we hope they stay [with us] for so many years.

“Honestly, we want the best players to come to Villarreal. Africa is one of the most important continents in terms of its contributions to Spanish and European football.

“And we really have to promote the African [culture] so that we can build bridges between our continents.”

The success of African players in the team over the years led to the acquisition of more players of African heritage coming into the squad lately.

They include Boulaye Dia (Senegal), Serge Aurier (Cote d’Ivoire), Aissa Mandi (Algeria) and Arnaut Danjuma (Nigeria) – who’s the club’s leading goalscorer this season with 7 goals in all competitions.