Kalidou Koulibaly pens emotional parting message to Napoli ahead of £30m Chelsea transfer

Kalidou Koulibaly has written an emotional farewell message to Napoli fans ahead of his transfer to Chelsea.

Koulibaly is set to be officially announced as a Chelsea player in the coming days after the club struck a £34million (€40m) deal to sign the centre-back on a long-term contract. The 31-year-old completed his medical in London on Thursday and will become the second signing of the Todd Boehly era, following Raheem Sterling, who has already joined in a £50m deal from Manchester City.

The Senegal international has been linked with a move to the Premier League for some time thanks to some consistent performances for Napoli. Now, with Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen gone on free transfers to Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively, Chelsea have finally made the transfer a reality.

Koulibaly joined Napoli in a £6.5m move from Belgian side Genk in 2014 and went on to make 317 appearances for the Italian club. He leaves Naples behind having forged quite the bond with the club’s fans, so has paid tribute in an Instagram post shared with his 1.9m followers.

Alongside a video showing clips of his stand-out 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 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