Kalidou Koulibaly assures he’s “really happy” at Napoli, and reveals he hung up on Rafa Benitez when he first called him.
The centre-back was linked with a move away from San Paolo in the summer, but opted to stay with Maurizio Sarri’s side.
“They breathe football here,” Koulibaly told France Football.
“President [Aurelio] De Laurentiis is an example of that, he deeply loves this club. He’s an atypical President, but he gives everything to help us progress. He’s a good person.
Kalidou Koulibaly assures he’s “really happy” at Napoli, and reveals he hung up on Rafa Benitez when he first called him.
The centre-back was linked with a move away from San Paolo in the summer, but opted to stay with Maurizio Sarri’s side.
“They breathe football here,” Koulibaly told France Football.
“President [Aurelio] De Laurentiis is an example of that, he deeply loves this club. He’s an atypical President, but he gives everything to help us progress. He’s a good person.
“Just like him, everyone here is crazy about Napoli! As soon as we get into the city we’re signing autographs and taking pictures, everywhere we go!
“I think my family knows the city better than I do, because there are some places I can’t go, there are so many people who want to talk to us that it’d be hard to walk.
“I love this city, it’s magnificent. There’s the sun, the sea. The Neapolitans are very welcoming. I’m very, very happy here.”
Despite his current hero status, when former Coach Rafa Benitez contacted Koulibaly about coming to Naples he thought it was a prank…
“The call from Rafa Benitez came and I hung up two or three times. I didn’t believe it, I thought it was a friend making a joke!
“It seemed very surreal to me. Imagine it, I was playing in the Jupiler League in Belgium, then the Coach of a big Serie A club calls me? No, it was impossible!
“Afterwards I was really embarrassed. I was a bit stupid and I kept telling him I was sorry.
“Arriving at Napoli? My luck was that when I got there the World Cup was going on. The stars weren’t there, except [Jose] Callejon and [Marek] Hamsik.
“That allowed me to get to know the other players more easily, but also to assert myself, to show myself. When you arrive in a team with stars, it can intimidate you.
“I was less timorous with the group and less shy on the pitch. Then I had already learned some Italian at school, so I had some basics which I quickly improved.
“For a defender, there’s no better place than Italy to learn the tactical side. I’ve made huge strides forward from that point of view.”
And then Diego Maradona called him the best player in Serie A.
“It was like a waking dream!” Koulibaly exclaimed.
“Maradona is a legend, and someone who did so much for this city of Naples. When someone like him talks about you like that it’s truly, truly pleasing and it makes you proud.
“He even asked for my shirt, it shocked me! One of the guys in the club shop asked for one of my shirts to give to him.
“Of course, I didn’t believe it! I told him that if he wanted one of my shirts I’d give him it with no problem, but he didn’t need to invent stories like that.
“Three days later, Maradona sent me a picture to thank me. I was in heaven, it just goes to show that anything is possible in life. Now I look forward to meeting him!”
El Diego has said that Koulibaly would be playing for Real Madrid or Barcelona if he was white…
“I think there’s racism everywhere. Even if we don’t talk about it, it does exist. I’d rather take those statements positively.
“If one day I play for one of those clubs, it will be thanks to my efforts, my hard work and nothing else.
“Right now the question doesn’t arise, because I’m happy at Napoli and I want to win trophies here.”
The defender was a victim of racism himself, away to Lazio in February this year, how did that affect him?
“It really started to bother me,” Koulibaly confirmed.
“It’s distressing that people would pay for their ticket just to turn up and shout like that…
“Italy has a bad image because of things like that. But, you know, it made a difference, because at the end of the game a kid came to see me to apologise.
“He said ‘I’m sorry for everything that happened’. This kid, I gave him my shirt because I saw in his eyes and his words all the innocence he had, that despite being young he was against these idiots.
“So don’t put everyone in the same bag, these people are just morons.”