Eric Chelle’s demand for $130,000 monthly salary described as ‘ridiculous’

Fresh controversy has trailed the future of Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle after reports emerged that the Malian tactician has tabled a string of fresh demands, including an alleged monthly salary of $130,000, to remain in charge of Nigeria’s senior national team.

The reported conditions — said to include official accommodation, a car, uninterrupted power supply, flight tickets for his immediate family and full autonomy over team affairs — have sparked sharp reactions within Nigerian football circles.

Leading the criticism is former chairman of the Gombe State Football Association, Ahmed Shuaibu Gara-Gombe, who accused Chelle of overreaching barely a year into the job.

“I don’t think it is okay,” Gara-Gombe told The Guardian. “This man just came to Nigeria to boost his CV. I said it before that the Super Eagles is too big for Chelle.

“The Super Eagles raised Chelle to the global stage, not him raising the team, and he now wants to ‘blackmail’ us.

“With the players Nigeria have, we are even the ones to ask a coach like Eric Chelle to pay us ‘privileged fees’.

“It is so obvious now that Chelle just created a phantom story around Olympique Marseille that they were after his service, and a few days after, his ridiculous demands came. We are not fools. I read the demands, tand hey are ridiculous. While at the AFCON in Morocco, Chelle started his phantom story that Algeria wanted his services, and the Olympique Marseille story followed. If he wants to go, let him go. I have not seen any impact he made on the Super Eagles.”

Gara-Gombe further alleged that earlier reports linking Chelle with interest from European sides were exaggerated to strengthen his bargaining position.

According to him, the team’s recent results have been driven more by the individual brilliance of players than by the coach’s tactical imprint.

“We have polished him as a Coach. We have turned him into a reckoning, and now he wants to ‘blackmail us. If we retain this man for this amount, Nigeria will regret it,” he stated.

Former Super Eagles midfielder Edema Fuludu echoed similar sentiments, suggesting external influences may be shaping the coach’s stance.

“I want to believe that people are behind his demands, the Nigerian way. It is disheartening to know that a coach who came to Nigeria with a low-profile pedigree and was fortunate to have a pool of such quality players to prosecute games got a bronze medal, has been celebrated as if he won the AFCON.

He urged the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to prioritise long-term development by investing in local coaching education rather than committing vast sums to foreign managers.

“We have come to the threshold of anything goes for our football. Let us invest in coaching education and make our homegrown coaches by training and retraining, with financial encouragement in remuneration that is commensurate with what foreigners get for better performance.

“I think we should allow Chelle to go irrespective of the outcome of the World Cup protest against DR Congo,” Fuludu stated.

Not all voices, however, are aligned against the Malian.

Former Green Eagles winger Adegoke Adelabu, now a sports scientist, argued that Chelle is within his rights to negotiate improved terms.

“It is left to the NFF to decide whether he deserves such an amount,” Adelabu said. “Characteristically, we focus so much on competitions at all cost instead of professional development. His demands suggest he wants full control over invitations and selections without interference.”

Adelabu maintained that the broader issue lies with football governance, insisting the federation must clarify whether Chelle met its expectations and whether he remains the right man to build a formidable national side.

“It is left to the NFF to decide whether he deserves such an amount. Characteristically, we focus so much on going for competitions at all cost and not necessarily developing the national team professionally. You could see in his demands that he wants to be in complete control of the invitation and selection of the team without any interference.

“A forward-looking organisation ought to have known whether we are retaining him or not, depending on whether he met the objectives of the federation. The way he spelt out his demands showed that there is a problem with the running of the national team.

“We need to train our own coaches. We have enough retired footballers that we should be able to educate them scientifically to handle our national team players. My problem is not about his demands, but the NFF should tell us whether he is capable of building a befitting national team of our dream. Up till now, the Federal government has turned a deaf ear to the failure of the NFF despite the amount of money pumped into the training and development of the team for the World Cup. Everyone kept mute as if nothing happened,” Adelabu added.

An NFF official, speaking anonymously, revealed that the coach allegedly failed to meet two core objectives set when he was appointed last year: qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and reaching the final of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.

“If Chelle wants to leave, he should come out boldly and tell the NFF instead of this outrageous demand of $130,000. Now, let me reveal the main two targets given to Chelle by the NFF when he signed the contract last year. First, he was told to qualify Nigeria for the 2026 World Cup and second, qualify the team for the final of 2025 AFCON tournament in Morocco. Did he fulfil these two? The answer is no.”

Despite falling short of World Cup qualification, some observers believe Chelle inherited a difficult situation and steadied the team after a troubled start to the campaign.

As tensions simmer, attention now turns to the NFF and the Federal Government, who must decide whether to renegotiate terms or usher in yet another change in the Super Eagles dugout — a move that could once again reset Nigeria’s quest for continental and global success.