Chelsea's centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly transfers to Al-Hilal
Kalidou Koulibaly Credit: Maddie Meyer - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images
Chelsea's formidable centre-back, Kalidou Koulibaly, has secured a permanent transfer to Saudi Professional League side Al-Hilal.
After joining Chelsea from Napoli last summer, Koulibaly made 32 appearances for the Blues in his sole campaign at Stamford Bridge.
The 32-year-old made a memorable debut away at Everton and notched his first home game with a fantastic volley against Tottenham Hotspur.
His other goal for Chelsea came in another London derby, this time away to Fulham.
In the middle of the campaign, Koulibaly captained Senegal to the last 16 of the World Cup in Qatar. His crucial winning goal helped his country overcome Ecuador and reach the knockout stage.
"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," a Chelsea spokesperson said.
Al-Hilal had also recently signed another Premier League player. Portuguese midfielder Ruben Neves, after concluding his six-season tenure with Wolverhampton Wanderers, transferred to Al-Hilal on a permanent deal. This move broke records with a club transfer fee of £47m. For more details on Neves' transfer, visit here.
It's not the only Chelsea player to be heading to the Saudi league this week after N'Golo Kante departed for Al-Ittihad on Wednesday.
