Chelsea defender Koulibaly leaves club to join Saudi Arabian Al-Hilal

Chelsea announced on Sunday that defender Kalidou Koulibaly has left the English club, after completing a permanent transfer to Saudi Professional League side Al-Hilal.

The Senegalese center-back arrived from Napoli in July 2022 and netted twice in his 32 appearances for the Blues.

Chelsea thanked the 32-year-old for his contributions on and off the pitch during his time at Stamford Bridge and wished him well in the next stage of his career.

Recently, several veteran football stars have moved to Saudi Professional League clubs.

After Portuguese legend Cristiano Ronaldo joined Al-Nassr by leaving the English Premier League side Manchester United in January, his former teammate from Real Madrid, French striker Karim Benzema, announced to join another Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad in June.