Al-Hilal defender Kalidou Koulibaly just left Chelsea, but immediately lashed out at the English top club. The defender left for Saudi Arabia on Monday. That choice was partly due to the attitude of the Londoners, the defender said.
Koulibaly lashes out at Chelsea immediately after leaving
Last summer he was taken over from Napoli. Chelsea paid no less than forty million euros to the current champion of Serie A. Koulibaly came to 32 official games for The Blues, but left with a lot of grumpiness.
Initially, Koulibaly was not at all eager to leave for Al-Hilal, he told RMC Sport. However, Chelsea gave the Senegalese a bad feeling. He revealed, “I was not guaranteed that I would get any playing time. Even though I’ve always behaved professionally.”
“I don’t like sitting on the couch and meaning nothing,” Koulibaly continued. In order not to languish in the stands of Stamford Bridge, he agreed to a transfer to Saudi Arabia.
In retrospect, Koulibaly is disappointed that he was not given a chance to manifest himself at Chelsea. The defender added, “I needed the time. In a year I have not been able to prove that I was an added value. I couldn’t do what I wanted, partly because of choices made by the club and the managers.”
Koulibaly is just one of many top players to make the move to Saudi Arabia this summer. At Al-Hilal, the Senegalese will play together with Portuguese international Ruben Neves, while players N’Golo Kanté and Karim Benzema also made the step to the competition. Chelsea teammate Hakim Ziyech seems to follow quickly.
Lyon and Crystal Palace owner is fed up with Saudis
Speaking of the Saudi League, Olympique Lyon owner John Textor has spoken out against the massive spending binge that this summer seems to have engulfed Saudi Arabian teams. The proposals flooded in from teams not only at the pinnacle of Europe but also Lyon and Crystal Palace, one of Textor’s smaller clubs.
“Saudi Arabia wants everything. They desire my finest player for Lyon or Crystal Palace,” according to Textor. The boss of Wilfried Zaha and Alexandre Lacazette thinks their game plan is to purchase everything. For the time being, Textor may relax knowing that Lacazette and Zaha may not be prepared to travel to the Middle East. The next season, Zaha won’t be praised at Selhurst Park every other week.
RMC Sport claims that Lacazette has rejected the offer from Saudi Arabia and is not currently planning to transfer there. After a productive season, the striker wants to remain with Lyon. Zaha, who will leave Palace for free, would have furthermore rejected any offer. The winger might make 35 million euros annually in Saudi Arabia, according to The Guardian, but he hasn’t made the move yet.
