Morlaye Sylla left out of Africa Cup of Nations squad following Vinicius Jr 'shirt theft'

Guinea have left a player out of their Africa Cup of Nations squad following an alleged dispute over a Vinicius Jr shirt swap.

The tournament takes place in Ivory Coast this year and kicks off in 13 January.

Guinea have been drawn into Group C alongside Cameroon, Gambia and reigning champions Senegal.

Kaba Diawara has announced his 25-man squad for the showpiece but the biggest story is the omission of midfielder Morlaye Sylla.

The 25-year-old has been capped 25 times by his country but hasn't been involved in the set-up since a game against Brazil in June.

Brazil ran out 4-1 winners and Sylla swapped shirts with Selecao talisman Vini Jr, even posting a picture of the two on social media where they were holding one another's jersey.

Image: Morlaye Sylla

However, according to the Daily Mail, there was huge controversy in the Guinea dressing room afterwards as the shirt went missing.

Image: Getty

Sylla is said to have been furious and blamed his teammates, before then pointing the finger at manager Diawara and accusing him of stealing the memento.

The Arouca player was so adamant that he ordered a search of the whole changing rooms and that only escalated the situation.

Image: Getty

Sylla's behaviour and refusal to apologise has resulted in him being ostracised from his country's squad and he will not partake in AFCON.

Former Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita is the Guinea captain and has been included in the squad despite his recent injury record.

Guinea also have one of the most in-form strikers in world football in their ranks. Sehrou Guirassy has scored 17 times in the Bundesliga for VFB Stuttgart this term, with only Harry Kane ahead of him in the goalscoring charts.