Now Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck has called on FIFA to bring some sense into the bizarre situation.
African Nations Cup- In January - Is A Joke!
Buck: "We will lose several players to the African Nations Cup. This is unfortunate because it is a very difficult time of the season and we will need all of our players to help.
"We do recognise, however, that a player's greatest honour is to play for his country and we have to respect that.
"We can only hope that FIFA will stop some of this craziness in the years ahead and adjust the calendar so that club football is not continually interrupted and disrupted for international events when a better thought-out calendar could solve these anomalies."