Despite professing his love for the Super Eagles right from when he was a teenager, Eric Chelle now wishes to quit the team halfway through his contract.
He still has a contract until January 2027, but since the 2025 AFCON in Morocco he has been linked with various countries and clubs.
SCORENigeria has learnt that the 48-year-old coach is not comfortable with the working conditions in Nigeria, from late payment of salaries to the poor accommodation the NFF secured for him in Abuja.
Prior to the kick-off of the 2025 AFCON in December, he was owed three months pay even though he did not openly complain about this in public.
At a time, his hand-picked assistants, who he pays from his monthly $50,000 monthly salary, threatened to stay away from the team because of the lateness of the salaries.
It was also gathered that even though he ought to be paid in US dollars, he was paid in the local currency of Naira, which meant he also suffered from a huge cash shortfall.
SCORENigeria also gathered that after the Super Eagles superb run at the last AFCON and with the immense resources of Nigeria, Eric Chelle believed he deserves much more money and so his demand for his salary to be bumped up to $130,000 a month.
Top officials also encouraged him to ask for more money.
Further checks showed that he has always nursed the ambition to work at the top level of the game in his native France after he started out in the French fourth division from where he made the big jump to head the national team of Mali.
It must also be noted that he enjoyed the confidence of the leadership of the National Sports Commission (NSC), who paid his salaries, while the same could not be said of his employers, the NFF.
His immediate bosses demanded more control of the Super Eagles.
