Following the World Cup 2022, Saudi Arab made a great impact in world soccer and continues to do so by adding Kalidou Koulibaly to the league. Koulibaly joined Al-Hilal from Chelsea after spending just one year at Stanford Bridge.
Saudi Arabia surprised the world by signing the goat of soccer Cristiano Ronaldo in the 2023 January transfer window. From then Saudi Arab League started getting popular and dominating the soccer headlines.
This summer window they already signed the 2021 Ballon d’Or winner, Karim Benzema and the 2018 World Cup winner of France, N’Golo Kante.
Kalidou Koulibaly on his transfer to Al-Hilal
Al-Hilal the giant club of the Saudi Pro League targeted the current World Champion Lionel Messi to add to their squad. Although, the deal fails as the Argentine magician reject their deal and signed his name on the contract paper of Inter Miami.
After getting rejected by the Argentine legend they continue their search for high-profile players in Europe. Finally, they rested with Kalidou Koulibaly and offered him a 25 million euro deal.
The Senegalese international didn’t hesitate to accept the offer and left the Blues just after spending one year. Last year summer Chelsea signed the rock-solid defender from Napoli with a transfer fee of 38 million euro and signed a 4-year contract with the Blues.
🚨🎙️ Kalidou Koulibaly talks about the reasons he moved to Saudi Arabia: 👇
💰 About money: “I can't deny it. I will be able to help my whole family to live well, from my parents to my cousins, and support the activities of my Capitaine du Coeur association in Senegal. We… pic.twitter.com/9Yr834HdHg
— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) June 28, 2023
At Chelsea, Koulibaly played 32 matches for the club and scored 2 goals. After he joined the Saudi club much speculation surrounded him on why he choose a lower-level league by leaving the English Premier League.
At last, he opens up on his decision to join Al-Hilal by terminating the contract with Chelsea. In Al-Hilal the star defender signed three years contract. After signing with Al-Hilal, he will earn 200,000 pounds per week.
He said in an interview that he choose the right country to play as a Muslim and Al-Hilal is one of the best clubs in the league. He is very happy to be a part of the league and will help both Saudi Arab and Al-Hilal to make history.
The Senegalese also added that he will be able to help his family to lead a happy life including his parents and cousins and can provide more aid to the social activities he did through his association Capitane du Coeur in his country.
Kalidou Koulibaly’s achievements while playing in Europe
The Senegalese defender is regarded as one of the best defenders of his generation. During his time in Europe, he played most of the time in Serie A for Napoli.
He won, 1 Italian Cup and 1 Italian Super Cup. However, he also played in the Belgium League for KRC Genk where he won the Belgium Cup once. Although, with Chelsea, he was unable to win any major trophies.
Is Koulibaly’s decision to join Al-Hilal correct? Share your views on the transfer in the comment box.
