Chelsea defender Tosin Adarabioyo has responded to claims that he refused to play for the Nigerian national team. He said clearly that he never rejected Nigeria and that the reports were not true.

The 27-year-old gave his side of the story after Chelsea’s 4–1 win against Real Betis in the UEFA Europa Conference League final. Speaking in a post-match interview, he said the rumors about his international future were not accurate.

In his own words, Adarabioyo said, “Both of those stories are false. I’ve never turned down Nigeria. I’ve also never had talks where I agreed to play for Nigeria.”

Adarabioyo joined Chelsea this season after leaving Fulham. He said that his focus in the past few years has been on building his club career. He added that when he was still at Fulham, there were only small, informal talks about Nigeria—nothing official.

“At that point, I just wanted to play well for Fulham,” he explained. “It was my last season there, and I needed to give it my full attention. Now I’m at Chelsea, and I also wanted to focus on doing well in my first year at the club.”

Although he has played for England’s youth teams, Adarabioyo can still represent Nigeria through his parents. He gave a hint that he may be ready to make a choice soon about which country to represent.

“I think now is going to be the time that I need to make a decision,” he said.

His statement comes as Nigerian football officials continue their efforts to invite top players with Nigerian roots to join the national team for future competitions.