35 Facts About Kalidou Koulibaly

Kalidou Koulibaly was born on 20 June 1991 and is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Premier League club Chelsea and the Senegal national team.

Kalidou Koulibaly joined Italian team Napoli in 2014, where he won the Supercoppa Italiana title; he won the Coppa Italia in 2020.

Kalidou Koulibaly later made his senior debut with Senegal in 2015, and was a member of the Senegal squad that took part at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations.

Kalidou Koulibaly was named to the side that represented Senegal at the 2018 FIFA World Cup the following year, and subsequently helped his team to the final of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.

Kalidou Koulibaly was born on 20 June 1991 to Senegalese parents in Saint-Die-des-Vosges, France.

Kalidou Koulibaly's father worked in a textile mill in Senegal for seven days a week and never took weekends off for five years before he saved enough money to take his mother to France.

Kalidou Koulibaly began his career playing for his hometown club SR Saint-Die's youth team; he spent two seasons playing for the club's team in the Championnat de France Amateur 2, before joining the youth academy of professional club Metz on 1 July 2009.

Kalidou Koulibaly played for the club's amateur team in the Championnat de France Amateur appearing in 15 matches as Metz were crowned champions of the league finishing with 107 points.

Kalidou Koulibaly was, subsequently, promoted to the senior team by new manager Dominique Bijotat.

Kalidou Koulibaly made his professional debut on 20 August 2010 in a league match against Vannes.

Kalidou Koulibaly knows how to analyze his own matches, which brings him to a certain regularity in his performances.

Kalidou Koulibaly had a difficult start, between suspension and injury.

Kalidou Koulibaly's game was not settled, in this area he has progressed in recent weeks and must still win in consistency.

Kalidou Koulibaly joined Belgian club Genk on 29 June 2012 after agreeing a four-year contract.

Kalidou Koulibaly then scored two goals in two matches between 6 October 2013 and 19 October 2013.

Kalidou Koulibaly kept his place in the first team for the rest of the season.

Kalidou Koulibaly then helped Napoli go on a ten match winning streak in the league between 16 December 2017 and 26 February 2018.

Kalidou Koulibaly continued to be a regular starter for Napoli under coach Carlo Ancelotti and spoke positively about playing under him.

Kalidou Koulibaly helped the side win thirteen matches in the league to stay near the higher positions and challenge for the league title .

On 12 April 2019, Kalidou Koulibaly was involved in another racial incident, after reportedly suffering racist abuse from an Arsenal fan during a Europa League match between the two teams.

Napoli finished the season as runners-up to Juventus, with Kalidou Koulibaly earning the inaugural Serie A Best Defender award for the season.

Kalidou Koulibaly has on a number of occasions talked about his desire to retire at Napoli, and that a departure would only occur due to an economic decision made by the club.

Kalidou Koulibaly was born and raised in France by Senegalese parents, and was therefore eligible for both nations.

Kalidou Koulibaly played for the French under-20 team starting in 2011 and played six times during the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Colombia.

However, in early September 2015, Kalidou Koulibaly changed federations and joined the Senegal national football team, despite the interest to call him for Les Bleus from Didier Deschamps.

Kalidou Koulibaly was a member of the Senegal squad that took part at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations.

Kalidou Koulibaly played all three matches, as Senegal were knocked out in the group stage of the tournament after becoming the first team in FIFA World Cup history to be eliminated due to fair play tiebreaker rules.

Kalidou Koulibaly was named in Senegal's 23-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Kalidou Koulibaly has been praised by pundits for his overall solidity as a player and his ability to make interceptions; however, he has drawn criticism for giving away too many fouls.

In May 2019, it was announced that Kalidou Koulibaly was named as an honorary citizen of Naples.

Kalidou Koulibaly is so popular in Naples that an entrepreneur created a pizza after him and Koulibaly himself has spoken of his fondness for the city.

Kalidou Koulibaly is a Muslim and stated that his name derives from the Quran.

In October 2019, Kalidou Koulibaly called on the Italian football authorities to tackle racism by giving offenders a lifetime ban from entering the stadium.

Kalidou Koulibaly has been involved in several activities to help poor people both in Naples and his motherland: in June 2021, while vacationing in Senegal, Koulibaly collaborated with local organizations to assist underprivileged children and coordinated the arrival of a ship carrying sanitary tools and essential needs from the port of Naples.

Kalidou Koulibaly was appointed a Grand Officer of the National Order of the Lion by President of Senegal Macky Sall following the nation's victory at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.