Kalidou Koulibaly leaves Chelsea for an adventure in Saudi Arabia. The transfer to Al-Hilal has been in the air for several weeks, but Chelsea has now officially confirmed the defender’s departure.
After Kante, Chelsea also let Koulibaly leave for Saudi Arabia
Al-Hilal picked up Rúben Neves from Wolverhampton Wanderers on Friday and is on the verge of presenting another Premier League player. Kalidou Koulibaly is currently in Saudi Arabia for the medical examination. Images of it already appeared on social media.
The 32-year-old Koulibaly was known at Napoli as one of the best defenders in the world and cashed in on that status with a top transfer to Chelsea. However, the adventure in England was a disappointment for the strong Senegalese, who was told after 32 games for Chelsea that he could look further. Al-Hilal will now be his next employer.
Al-Hilal, last year’s Saudi champion who was dethroned by Al-Ittihad last season, is reportedly paying around 24 million euros to bring in Koulibaly. Last year Chelsea transferred 38 million euros to Napoli.
After N’Golo Kante, who signed an extremely lucrative contract with Al-Ittihad, Koulibaly is the second Chelsea player to go to Saudi Arabia. Edouard Mendy and Hakim Ziyech are rumored to follow.
Chelsea reportedly receive around 24 million euros for the defender.
Last summer, Chelsea took over Koulibaly from Napoli for just under forty million euros. The 32-year-old Senegalese played a total of 32 games in Chelsea’s first team, the majority as a basic player. Koulibaly previously played for Metz and KRC Genk.
Koulibaly can therefore be admired in the Saudi league next season. In doing so, he follows former teammates at Chelsea N’Golo Kanté and Karim Benzema, who exchanged Real Madrid for Al-Ittihad. At Al-Hilal, Koulibaly will play together with Ruben Neves.
Through the club channels, Chelsea wishes Koulibaly the best of luck at his new club. They stated, “We would like to thank Kalidou for his contributions on and off the pitch. During his time at Stamford Bridge and wish him well for the next phase of his career.” Chelsea reportedly receive around 24 million euros for the defender.
