Kalidou Koulibaly ‘always considered himself Neapolitan, so the move to Chelsea probably saddens him too’ said the chief of the Senegalese Association of Naples.
The defender had been part of the Napoli squad since leaving KRC Genk in 2014 and was set to inherit the captain’s armband from Lorenzo Insigne this season.
However, he is instead undergoing a medical today in London for the €40m transfer to Chelsea.
“This news brought great sadness to all of us,” said Pierre Preira, the President of the Senegalese Association of Naples, to Il Mattino newspaper.
“Kalidou always said he considered himself Senegalese, Neapolitan and French, so I imagine the move to London probably saddens him too.
“It is a huge loss for us, both as a sportsman and a man who did so much for our community, far more than people know. We celebrated together for the Africa Cup of Nations victory and had planned another meet-up, which now will be very difficult to organise.
“Every Senegalese person I meet always talks to me about Koulibaly and Napoli, he helped put our country on the football map and made all of us very proud.”
Koulibaly had made that comment about feeling his identity was Senegalese, Neapolitan and French after receiving racist abuse during a match.
In Italy, Neapolitans and those from the south of Italy are subjected to ‘territorial discrimination’ insults, which are treated the same way as racism under the local rules.
This has led to fines and partial stadium closures as punishment for fans who made these insults, so Koulibaly fully embraced his role as an ambassador for Naples as well as Senegal.
The defender was also very moved in January when Napoli fans joined in with the local Senegalese community to greet him at the airport after winning the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in the country’s history.