Coulibaly left Chelsea for Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia

 Coulibaly left Chelsea for Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia

Coulibaly(Twitter)

Lionel Messi was offered a huge financial proposal by Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal. The amount was 40 million euros per year or even more. However, the Argentine World Cup-winning captain did not accept Al-Hilal's offer. He has announced his intention to join the Major League Soccer team Inter Miami in the United States. But Al-Hilal is not giving up. They are trying to recruit several other big stars in world football. There are rumors that Brazilian star Neymar may join Al-Hilal. However, Al-Hilal has confirmed the signing of Senegalese star footballer Kalidou Koulibaly.

Coulibaly(Twitter)

Koulibaly joined Chelsea from Napoli last season. He has played 32 matches for Chelsea. Now his destination is Saudi Arabia. Chelsea announced Koulibaly's Saudi journey through a tweet, saying, "Kalidou Koulibaly is leaving Chelsea and joining Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal. We wish him success. Thank you for his contribution as a Chelsea player."

🎬 We’ll continue to make history together 🤝💙#AlHilal_Video #AlHilal
pic.twitter.com/CsIQNVGyh8

— AlHilal Saudi Club (@Alhilal_EN) June 25, 2023

Koulibaly, representing Senegal, won the African Cup of Nations in 2022. Since 2015, he has played 71 matches for his country. As a defender, he has also scored two goals in 32 matches for Chelsea. He has scored one goal while representing his country.

After confirming his transfer to Al-Hilal, Koulibaly stated in a tweet message, "From the first match to the last match - wearing the blue jersey of Chelsea was a great honor. The last season for Chelsea did not go as expected. We didn't anticipate such a disappointing outcome. However, I still want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the supporters of the club for their unwavering love and support."

Al-Hilal has not disclosed the transfer fee received from Chelsea, but BBC Online has reported that the amount is not less than £200 million.

In January, Cristiano Ronaldo joined Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr. Until 2025, he will receive an annual salary of €20 million from Al-Nassr, making him the highest-paid athlete in the history of the sport. If Messi were to join Al-Hilal, he would surpass Ronaldo as the highest-paid athlete. Even without Messi, Saudi Arabia has attracted many top football stars with lucrative league offers. The question is how many can resist the lure of Saudi Arabian money.