Mercato: Kalidou Koulibaly changes dimension by joining Chelsea
Senegalese Kalidou Koulibaly celebrating a goal scored with Napoli against Juventus, at the Diego-Maradona stadium, September 11, 2021. AP - Alessandro Garofalo
Text by: Nicolas Bamba Follow
3 mins
After eight seasons in Naples, Kalidou Koulibaly leaves Italy.
The captain of Senegal has signed a four-year contract with Chelsea, who paid more than 37 million euros to secure his services.
He took a new step with the London club, accustomed to aiming for the heights.
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A whole new page is opening for
Kalidou Koulibaly
.
Ten years ago, he left FC Metz, the club with which he had started his professional career two years earlier, to join the Belgian championship and Genk.
This Saturday, July 16, the Senegalese says goodbye this time to Naples, where he has been playing since 2014, and heads for England and Chelsea.
The Blues announced his transfer in the morning.
The 2022 African champion, who has just turned 31, has signed a four-year contract, until 2026. The amount of the transaction has not been revealed, but according to several British media, Chelsea paid just over 37 million euros for Kalidou Koulibaly, who only had one year left on his contract at Napoli.
Another one.
👌 #KoulibalyIsChelsea pic.twitter.com/fcexST5KSy
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) July 16, 2022
The London club's second recruit of the summer after striker Raheem Sterling, the defender arrives in a team that badly needed reinforcements.
Indeed, Chelsea have seen Andreas Christensen leave for FC Barcelona and especially Antonio Rüdiger for Real Madrid in recent weeks.
And with Thiago Silva turning 38 in September, new blood was needed in the Blues rear.
Chelsea's fourth Senegalese player
The native of Saint-Dié-des-Vosges was often cited for several years as a potential recruit for various major clubs in Europe.
Remaining faithful to Naples for eight seasons during which he won an Italian Cup and an Italian Supercup (as well as three "titles" of Italian vice-champion), Kalidou Koulibaly decided to take the plunge by saying yes at Chelsea, where he will find his compatriot Édouard Mendy.
“
They are a great team in the world and my dream has always been to play in the Premier League.
Chelsea approached me in 2016 but it didn't happen.
This time when they came to meet me I accepted (the offer) because they really wanted me to come to the Premier League and play for them
,” the neo-Blues explained in a statement from his new club.
Fourth Senegalese player to wear the Chelsea jersey after Demba Ba, Papy Djilobodji and Édouard Mendy, Kalidou Koulibaly did not forget to greet Napoli one last time.
In a message posted in Italian on social networks, the defensive rock (1.87m, 89 kilos) wrote: “
Thank you Naples and the Neapolitans, for all the love we exchanged.
I am proud to have honored you with all that I have and I will continue, forever, to carry you in my heart and to nurture one of the most important feelings for me: respect.
You have been everything to me.
Now it's time for me to leave and get back to the game
: let's go for a new adventure.
»
See this post on Instagram
A post shared by Kalidou Koulibaly (@kkoulibaly26)
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