Chelsea announces Koulibaly’s departure

Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly is the latest Blues player to join the exodus move to Saudi Arabia as he recently completed a transfer to Al-Hilal for an undisclosed fee.

The centre-back will join Ruben Neves at the Saudi Pro League club.

Recall that midfielder N’Golo Kante had also reached an agreement with Saudi champions Al-Ittihad, while goalkeeper Edouard Mendy is also close to joining Al-Ahli.

Koulibaly moved to Chelsea from Napoli last summer and made 32 appearances, scoring two goals only.

“From my first game to my last, it was an honour to wear this badge,” Koulibaly said on Twitter.

“Last season wasn’t the one we wanted, but I want to thank the fans and everyone at the club for your support.”

Chelsea in a statement confirming the Senegal international departure wrote: “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 stage of his career.”