Kalidou Koulibaly was one of the new players to arrive at Chelsea last summer after the Premier League side signed him from Napoli.
The centre-back played the full 90 minutes in his side’s defeat against Wolverhampton Wanderers at the weekend. Prior to the tie, ABC interviewed the 31-year-old.
Koulibaly established himself as one of the best defenders in Serie A during his eight-year spell at the Naples club. He was asked why he left Napoli for Chelsea.
“My career at Napoli was done. I love the club and the city, and I gave it my all for eight years. I needed new challenges in my career. I decided to come to the Premier League, which for me is the best league in the world,” he said.
“I wanted to prove to myself that I could succeed here, and Chelsea were a great choice. As I told you before on the subject of Senegal, I never regret the steps I take because I am convinced that it is the best for my life and my profession.”
The Senegal international has featured 30 times in all competitions this season, scoring two goals and managing an assist in the process. He saw Chelsea sack Thomas Tuchel last September and replace him with Graham Potter. The latter was also shown the exit door earlier this month.
Chelsea are currently 11th in the table and have appointed Frank Lampard as the interim manager until the end of this season. On the Blues’ struggles this season, Koulibaly explained: “Half the staff is new, the ownership is new, and it takes time to put all of this together and be productive. We know we have a good team and we are going to prove it.
“He is a great legend of this club. He knows the house perfectly and that will make it easier to work. He has told us to our face the real situation we are in and now we have to follow his advice and believe in his work. His first message has been to let us see that he believes in us and that we will all be important. That’s a good sign.”
Chelsea face Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-final clash on Wednesday. Los Blancos are managed by Koulibaly’s former manager, Carlo Ancelotti.
When asked what tie is he expecting this midweek, Koulibaly said: “Very complicated. We know it, but we have to be convinced that we are capable of competing against them, because if not, we are lost.
“If we think that we are not capable of competing against Real Madrid, it is better not to introduce ourselves. Real Madrid are in a great moment, they have a great team, they have just scored four against Barça and they are the current champions of the Champions League. They are the 100% favourite, I am not going to lie to you, but we will give everything to eliminate them.”
