Kalidou Koulibaly completes his £20m move to Al-Hilal after just one season at Chelsea

Sports
By James

Kalidou Koulibaly completes his £20million move to Al-Hilal just one season after joining Chelsea for £34million…as centre-back becomes the latest star to make the move to the Saudi league

  • Kalidou Koulibaly has completed a £20 million transfer from Chelsea to Al-Hilal
  • The 32-year-old joined The Blues from Napoli last summer in a deal worth £34 million
  • Koulibaly made 32 appearances and scored twice in his only season with Chelsea

By Adrian Bishop for Mailonline

published: | Updated:

Kalidou Koulibaly has left Chelsea just 12 months into his contract with the Blues to join Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal for £20 million.

The 32-year-old joined Chelsea from Napoli in a £34 million deal last summer, signing a four-year contract as one of several signings as Todd Boehly oversaw an ill-fated £600 million overhaul to the club. Blues Squad.

During his only season with the club, Koulibaly went on to make 32 appearances and scoring twice in all competitions for the Blues.

However, a hamstring injury towards the end of the season limited his involvement as Chelsea crashed out of the Champions League, dropping to twelfth place under returning boss Frank Lampard.

a message on the club’s website thanked Koulibaly for his efforts at Stamford Bridge.

Kalidou Koulibaly has moved from Chelsea to Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal in a deal worth £20 million

Koulibaly made 32 appearances in his only season at Stamford Bridge but saw the latter part of his campaign cut short by injury

Koulibaly made 32 appearances in his only season at Stamford Bridge but saw the latter part of his campaign cut short by injury

At Al-Hilal, the Senegalese defender, he can also count Ruben Neves as teammates in the 68,000-seat King Fahd International Stadium alongside former Premier League stars Matheus Pereira and Andre Carrillo.

The Riyadh-based club has won a record four AFC Champions League titles and recently made headlines for their attempts to sign Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku, offering the Belgium international a reported £21 million a year deal.

Meanwhile, Koulibaly joins a number of Chelsea stars likely to leave the club this summer as incoming boss Mauricio Pochettino looks to review his squad for next season.

N’Golo Kante will join Karim Benzema at Al-Ittihad when his contract expires at the end of this month, while fellow Champions League winner Edouard Mendy is set to leave West London ahead of a move to Al-Ahli.

Meanwhile, it looks like Mateo Kovacic will join Premier League champions Man City in a £25 million deal and Kai Havertz will join Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, with an official announcement expected in the coming days.

32-year-old joins former Blues teammate N'Golo Kante in burgeoning Saudi Pro League

32-year-old joins former Blues teammate N’Golo Kante in burgeoning Saudi Pro League

STATEMENT FROM CHELSEA ABOUT KALIDOU KOULIBALY JOINING AL-HILAL

Kalidou Koulibaly has left Chelsea on a permanent transfer to Saudi Professional League side Al-Hilal.

The centre-back joined from Napoli last summer and made 32 appearances for the Blues in his lone season at Stamford Bridge.

The 32-year-old made his debut at Everton and marked his first home game with a fantastic volley against Tottenham Hotspur. His other Chelsea goal also came in a London derby away to Fulham.

Halfway through the campaign, Koulibaly led Senegal to the last 16 of the World Cup in Qatar; the defender scored a crucial winning goal to help his country overcome Ecuador and reach the knockout stages.

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.

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