Ilux Moriba, the Celta Vigo midfielder, has left the Guinea camp, a departure initially justified by patellar tendon problems. Head coach Paulo Duarte claims the player was demanding the number 10 shirt, worn for the past two years by Aliou Badara Baldé, a midfielder at Saint-Gall.
The matter could have been closed with a simple withdrawal. Ilux Moriba left the Guinea camp prematurely, a decision initially justified by patellar tendon problems, according to Dzen.ru. But another version quickly emerged.
Head coach Paulo Duarte gave a very different explanation, reported by Julla27.net: the Celta Vigo midfielder was demanding the number 10 shirt and threatening not to play otherwise. The player’s departure therefore raises the question of discipline within the Guinean squad.
The number 10, a bone of contention
According to the head coach, Moriba’s request left no room for discussion. “I want the 10. But why do you want the 10? Tell me, why? The 10 belongs to someone else. He has worn it for two years. For two years, he has suffered here. He trained, he turned up, he won, he lost… And then another one arrives and says: ‘I want the 10.’ Why?”, Paulo Duarte explained, quoted by Julla27.net.
The shirt belongs to Aliou Badara Baldé, a midfielder at Saint-Gall, who has worn it for two years. Moriba, for his part, has already worn the number 7 in recent national team call-ups, again according to Julla27.net. The numbering hierarchy thus becomes the point of friction.
The head coach stands by his refusal and brings the player back to his priorities: “What does the 10 give you? Playing thanks to your status? Are you sure that wearing the 10 will make you play? What the player wants is to be better on the pitch, to defend the club, to defend the country. That is what is important. But when your ego is at that point, you only think about yourself. Like that with me, no. I am like that, sorry.”
A precedent at Celta Vigo
Julla27.net also reports a precedent: Moriba had already been excluded from Celta Vigo’s summer preparation for repeated lateness. The report does not formally link this precedent to the current departure.
In his response, Paulo Duarte says: “Nobody wants the 10. Someone wants the 10: Maradona, Zico… Maybe you are still too young to wear it.”
The report contains no reaction from the player or his entourage: the demand for the shirt is reported only by Paulo Duarte. No federation sanction is mentioned in it.
Eritrea at the centre of the calendar
While the matter stirs debate, Guinea continues its campaign. They beat Eritrea 2-1 on matchday 3.
The return match Eritrea – Guinea is scheduled for 17 November 2026 at 00:00, against the same Eritrean team.