Senegal defender Kalidou Koulibaly has officially completed a move to English Premier League side Chelsea from Napoli
The 31-year-old signed on the dotted line on Saturday after completing his mandatory medical test.
Chelsea confirmed the player’s signing in a statement published on their website adding that he has signed a four-year deal.
Koulibaly is widely regarded as one of the best centre-backs in world football and will be expected to bolster the Blues defensive options following the departures of Toni Rudiger and Andreas Christensen.
“I am very happy to be here with this team at Chelsea,” said Koulibaly. “It’s a big team in the world and my dream was always to play in the Premier League.
“Chelsea came first to get me in 2016 but we didn’t make it. Now when they came to me I accepted it because they really wanted me to come to the Premier League to play for them. When I spoke to my good friends Edou and Jorginho they made my choice easier so I’m really happy to be with you today.
“I want to thank the fans because I saw a lot of them in London and on the plane everybody was happy for me to be here. So I want to thank them and I hope the season will be really good and we will give some good moments to the fans.”
Koulibaly started his footballing career in his country of birth France with Metz junior team before becoming a member of the first-team squad in 2010.
He spent two seasons with Metz, playing 72 games before moving to Gent in Belgian in 2012.
In 2014, the defender moved to Napoli in Italy and spent over eight years with the Serie A giants.
Koulibaly helped Senegal to glory at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations and has earned 62 caps for his country.
