The battle between club and country duties becomes a recurrent matter of controversy throughout the football season when European leagues aggressively compete for glory.
The upcoming Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in January and February adds an extra level of complication to this issue, particularly for African players playing in the top tiers of European football.
Ghana's coach Chris Hughton voiced his opinion with TalkSport, claiming that players' desire to represent their country on the AFCON stage should be analyzed through the perspective of individual circumstances.
“Forget about the AFCON, we’ve always known players that played at the national level that will be there whatever it takes; they are 50% injured but they are going to turn up at the national level but there are other players that won’t,” Hughton said.
“There are other players who would perhaps see it differently so I think that this one is always going to be personal. I think this is minimal…these are individual cases and I think the large majority are of players wanting to represent their country," he added.