Aliou Cisse’s comment came after Napoli owner and president Aurelio de Laurentiis said the Italian club will avoid signing any more African players unless they agree not to play in the biennial tournament.
The Senegal Coach in an interview with BBC Sport Africa said "A football player can play for 12 teams, say, but will only have one national team,"
"Clubs will never be above our flag and our national teams.
And every Senegalese who plays in Europe, wherever he will be, if he is competent I will call him to defend the colors of the nation.
"I have a lot of respect for (De Laurentiis) but I challenge them to try to not recruit African players."
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The timing of the Nations Cup - traditionally played in January and February - has led to repeated disputes with European clubs forced to release players in the middle of the season.
Napoli lost defender Kalidou Koulibaly - who captained Senegal to triumph in the 2021 Nations Cup staged this year in Cameroon - and midfielder Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa to call-ups for the tournament last season and the pair missed six club games.
The Confederation of African Football (Caf), the continent's governing body, said it was "appalled" by the "irresponsible and unacceptable remarks" made by De Laurentiis, and called on European counterpart Uefa to open a disciplinary investigation against the 73-year-old.
"Are we to assume (De Laurentiis) is going to include similar restrictive conditions to players from South America, Asia and other confederations prohibiting them from playing in their continental competitions?" a Caf statement read.
Koulibaly spent eight years in Napoli before joining Chelsea last month and responded to De Laurentiis' comments by saying it is important to "respect everybody".
"If he thinks that the team can play without African players, it's up to him," the centre-back said. "But I think not everybody has the same idea as him in the club, because I know their supporters and they don't think like this."
"Obviously, clubs are fearful about the Nations Cup, but it is important for our country and for our continent," added coach Cisse.
"The Napoli president is an important figure. I met him once and just by his handshake, you could tell he is a serious man and honest man."
