2023-06-25 21:34:16
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Kalidou Koulibaly has played 71 caps for the Senegal national team
Kalidou Koulibaly has become the latest Chelsea player to move to Saudi Arabia after the Senegalese defender completed his move to Al Hilal club in an undisclosed fee.
Thus, the 32-year-old defender joins Portuguese midfielder Ruben Neves, who moved from Wolverhampton to Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal for 47 million pounds.
Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante has also agreed to move to Saudi club Al-Ittihad, while teammate Edouard Mendy is close to joining Al-Ahly.
Coulibaly had moved to Chelsea from Italian club Napoli last July under a four-year contract.
Coulibaly arrived at “Stamford Bridge” with tremendous European and international experience, after he led Napoli to win the Italian Cup in 2020, and led Senegal to win the African Cup of Nations in 2022.
But he has only made 32 appearances for Chelsea in all competitions, scoring twice in 23 Premier League matches.
“From my first match until my last match, it was an honor for me to wear this armband,” Coulibaly said on Twitter.
He added, “Last season things did not go as we would have liked, but I would like to thank the fans and everyone at the club for your support.”
Chelsea did not reveal how much Al Hilal paid for Coulibaly’s services – but reports suggest it could be as much as £20m.
Coulibaly’s move to Saudi Arabia follows the departure of a number of high-profile players from European clubs to Saudi Arabia, a trend that began with Cristiano Ronaldo’s move from Manchester United to Al Nassr in January.
After that, Karim Benzema moved from Real Madrid to Al-Ittihad at the end of the season, and reports in recent weeks indicated that Arsenal player Thomas Partey and Manchester City player Bernardo Silva might move to Saudi Arabia.
This trend reflects the ambition of the Saudi League to be one of the five best leagues in the world, after the decision taken last June by the Public Investment Fund in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which owns Newcastle United, to acquire four major clubs in the country.
There are doubts about whether the Public Investment Fund owns a stake in the private equity firm Clearlake Capital, which owns Chelsea, although sources within the club have rejected indications of any direct relationship.
Despite this, the number of players transferred from Chelsea to the Saudi League could reach four by the end of this summer, as reports indicate that Saudi clubs are interested in signing Moroccan winger Hakim Ziyech as well.
The transfers come as part of a wider process taking place behind the scenes at Stamford Bridge, as new manager Mauricio Pochettino works to rebuild the squad.
German striker Kai Havertz will join Arsenal in a deal valued at 65 million pounds, and Chelsea have accepted an offer from Manchester City to acquire the services of Croatian midfielder Mateo Kovacetti for 30 million pounds.
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