Ex-Super Eagles midfielder hits back at Chelle for huge contract demand

Former Super Eagles and Julius Berger midfielder Edema Godwin Fuludu has labelled Eric Chelle’s new contract demands as ridiculous, Afrik Foot reports.

The Franco-Malian tactician failed in his task to qualify Nigeria for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, losing out on penalties in the play-off against DR Congo.

At the AFCON 2025 tournament, Nigeria fell short against Morocco in the semi-final, with the penalty shoot-out as their bane again, but they came out victorious in the third-place game against Egypt.

Edema Fuludu questions Chelle’s contract demands

Eric Chelle’s demand for a new contract is headlined by a request to raise his monthly salary from $50,000 to $130,000, a figure said to cover his own wages as well as those of his backroom staff.

Should the NFF grant the 48-year-old’s requests, he’ll become the second-highest paid coach in Africa, just behind Algeria’s Vladimir Petković.

However, Fuludu believes the former RC Lens defender doesn’t have enough grounds to make such requests, considering he didn’t win the AFCON, nor qualify the Super Eagles for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

“We are celebrating him for bringing us a bronze medal, but what exactly did he win?

“Did he win the AFCON for us? If he had won AFCON and requested $200,000, we would gladly give it to him.

“If he had qualified us for the World Cup, we would say yes, he has truly worked,” Fuludu said in quotes revealed by Brila.

“It’s a contract — an offer and acceptance. You either accept it or you don’t. It’s not for the public to debate. It is the responsibility of the NSC and NFF to make a decision and announce the outcome.

“For me, I don’t think we should throw away foreign currency like that. Let’s invest in our coaching development and allow our league to make real progress,” the AFCON 1994 winner concluded.

The NFF have rejected Chelle’s $130,000 salary request, and are prepared to hire US-based Nigerian head-coach Michael Nsien.