Kalidou Koulibaly has posted an emotional goodbye message to Napoli fans ahead of his £34million move from Chelsea.
The Senegal defender completed his medical in London and will join his new teammates in America, where they are currently on a preseason tour.
Koulibaly comes into the Chelsea team to replace Antonio Rudiger, who left this summer on a free transfer to join Real Madrid.
Ahead of his official unveiling as a Chelsea player, the 31-year-old took to social media to pen an emotional farewell to supporters of his former club, thanking them for creating a ‘love story’ during his eight years in Italy.
On his Twitter account, he posted a picture of himself on a plane to America to join Chelsea’s pre-season tour with the caption: ‘Napoli, terra mia’ – translated to ‘Naples, my land’ – followed by a blue heart and signing off with his name.
On Instagram, the Senegalese international alongside a video showing clips of his standout Napoli moments cut with scenes from the city, Koulibaly wrote: “1 June 2014, an unforgettable date: my arrival in Naples, the beginning of a story of pure love. I was a shy boy, but with a great desire to show the world that I could do it!
“Victories, defeats, joys, disappointments. Too many emotions lived together: impossible to summarise them. But I keep everything in my mind, in my heart.
“My two children were born in Naples. I have met people who will forever be a part of my life and who made me and my family feel at home from the first to the last moment. Thanks to you, Naples, I became the man I am today.
“Thanks to the club, the President, the coaches, all my teammates and all the people I have had the pleasure of working with over the years. Thank you, Naples and Neapolitans, for all the love we have given each other.
“I am proud to have honoured you with all of myself and I will continue, indefinitely, to carry you in my heart and to nurture one of the most important feelings for me: respect. You have been everything for me. Now I feel I have to leave and get back into the game: it’s time for a new adventure.”
Koulibaly spent eight seasons at Naples and made 317 appearances in all competitions for the Italian side while scoring 14 goals.He becomes Chelsea’s second signing this summer after the acquisition of Raheem Sterling from Manchester City and will sign a four-year contract at Stamford Bridge. But it is unlikely that the defender will be the last defensive reinforcement for Blues manager Tuchel, who is also interested in Paris Saint-Germain star Presnel Kimpembe.
