News about Kalidou Koulibaly

Chelsea owner Todd Boehly has opened up on why one of his early signings for the Blues claims to have struggled in the Premier League.  Since taking over the West London club in 2022 as head of the Clearlake consortium, Boehly has spent over a billion pounds trying to get the right squad together to mount a decent campaign. The American businessman spoke on the global greatness of football - and the Premier League in particular - but noted how the pace of the game left one £33m signing struggling to adapt after joining Chelsea.

Chelsea's net income by selling ten players with the Blues could reach a dramatic peak this summer as they continue to comply with the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Guidelines (PSR). In the first full year under Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital's ownership, the club reported a tax loss of £90.1 million last week. Chelsea FC Holdings Limited's accounts showed the loss for the 12-month cycle until June 30, 2023.

Chelsea could face Saudi Arabia in the summer after it became apparent that the club's chairman, Todd Boehly, spoke with Michael Emenalo during a recent visit to the Middle Eastern country's capital. Emenalo is the Saudi Pro League's director of football, having previously worked in Chelsea's boardroom. The meeting, which was reported to have been held in Riyadh in the last fortnight, would only add to rumors that the club is attempting to offload players to Saudi Arabia.

After losing with a move for Bruno Fernandes in the winter window, Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal is expected to resurrect interest in him. The Manchester United captain is the latest high-profile name to be threatened by the Middle East's riches, and has made a move for the Portuguese in January. According to a record in Portugal, Al-Hilal made an astronomical bid to the 29-year-old to return to the country. Fernandes, however, refused the transfer to Saudi because he still has unfinished work at United and in one of Europe's top leagues. However, Al-Hilal hasn't deterred, and the gang could return to tempt Fernandes with a new offer in the summer.

The AFCON has wowed football fans around the world by its exciting storylines. Senegal has been knocked out by hosts Ivory Coast last night, putting the two favorites into the knockout stages. One thing for certain has been the level of talent on display, with a slew of top names including Sadio Mane, Riyad Mahrez, and Mohamed Salah. However, with the emergence of the Saudi Pro League and slew of lucrative big money contracts on offer to Africa's top footballers, the pay is obviously staggering. From Saudi stars Mahrez, Mane and Kalidou Koulibaly earning huge amount of money - who are the highest paid African footballers at AFCON 2024?

Plenty of people wondered why Chelsea wasn't with them as Everton and Nottingham Forest were charged with Premier League spending abuses on Monday. Since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital took over the club in May 2022, it's well-documented that the Blues have splashed out over £1 billion on new signings. Nevertheless, Chelsea haven't breached the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Laws (PSR), their version of financial fair play, despite an outlay on players dwarfing that of their opponents. Chelsea was properly within the bounds even though Everton, who have already been docked ten points this season, and Forest await their fate. It doesn't all come down to outlay players, as we'll discuss here.

AFCON is finally here, following months of rumors over which players will be ruled out of club action for up to four weeks. Following the most recent round of play, the continental tournament will take place from January 13 to February 11, with players having to join their national teams. This year's edition of the Ivory Coast will be held in Senegal, with Senegal as the reigning champions after defeating Egypt on penalties in the 2021 tournament (which took place in 2002).

Chelsea co-founders Paul Clearlake has revealed that they are looking to reduce their annual wage bill by around £80 million ($100 million), with the club also facing significant investment from US company Ares Management. Chelsea spent around £1 billion on player transfers since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital's takeover in 2022, with their wage bill soaring amid the number of new recruits. In the last three windows, the club had been attempting to move on certain squad members. Kalidou Koulibaly, Kai Havertz, N'Golo Kante, and Romelu Lukaku are among the names to have left the team in the summer window, either permanently or on loan.

After signing for Fulham and Newcastle, Aleksandar Mitrovic seems to have fired a dig at Fulham and Newcastle. Mitrovic played eight years in English football this summer after joining Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal in a £46 million transfer from Fulham. Since joining Anderlecht in 2015, the 29-year-old spent three years at Newcastle before a fruitful five years as a Fulham player.

As the Saudi Pro League (SPL) transfer window finally closed, clubs in Europe breathed a sigh of relief on Thursday night. As a new footballing machine came on and signed a whole host of world class and Premier League stars, it would be difficult to recall 2023 as anything other than the Saudi summer. As we find out whether this summer was just a one-off or, as is more likely, the Middle East becomes a favorite destination for top flight clubs around Europe for courting players.

Last week, the Premier League's summer transfer window came to an end, with the clubs spending £2.4 billion by the end of deadline day. Despite that closure, a number of leagues around the world are still open, allowing clubs to sign players from outside of their country's designated league. That includes the Saudi Pro League, which has seen a string of high profile signings from the Premier League, including Kalidou Koulibaly, Edouard Mendy, and Ruben Neves.

According to Fabrizio Romano, Joao Felix has obtained a loan transfer to Barcelona from Atletico Madrid. At Chelsea, the Portugal star had a brief spell in the Premier League, but did not attempt to make a permanent move this summer. His future has been in jeopardy as he has been trained at Atletico Madrid's academy for part of the Spanish pre-season.

Following the announcement of Chelsea's new acquisition Cole Palmer, owner Todd Boehly has increased his transfer spending to over £1 billion. Palmer's £42.5 million transfer from Manchester City to take the grand spectacle in just three windows. Raheem Sterling made his first signing under Boehly ownership last summer, with his £47.5 million arrival kicking off a summer that saw the arrivals of big name defenders Wesley Fofana and £34 million Kalibaly to the club. The Blues invested £250 million in the 2022 summer season before sprinkling the cash in January on a slew of big-name transfers. Before being hired by Mykhalio Mudryk (£89 million) and the near-£70 million spent on Benoit Badiashile and Noni Madueke, Enzo Fernandez was the most expensive as he became the club's record signing at £106.7 million.

MIKE KEEGAN AND HENRY CLARK: As it rapidly closes in on the £1bn mark Chelsea's staggering spending spree has left members of the public - and officials from rival clubs - asking the same question: how will they get away with it? Although they may not have qualified for Europe after last year's miserable run, they will nevertheless have to adhere to Premier League budget guidelines. However, one might be forgiven for looking at Chelsea's monstrous £785 million and increasing outlay, with Moises Caicedo the latest big-money arrival (ensuring Chelsea has paid Brighton only £224 million for players and staff since last summer), and one might wonder if those laws would not hold at Stamford Bridge.

According to ESPN, Neymar is 'near to settling personal terms with Suai Pro League team AL-Hilal.' After both teams agreed that he should leave this summer, PSG is said to have accepted a bid for the forward on Saturday. A number of MLS clubs had previously been interested in Neymar, but the Saudi team now appears to have ties with Ruben Neves and Kalidou Koulibaly.

Rio Ferdinand was advised by Arsenal that players such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Jordan Henderson should not be suspended for joining the Saudi Pro League, and Nottingham Forest's Jordan Henderson should not be banned from participating in the Premier League. The former Manchester United defender declared that he is 'angry' that players are being vilified for moving to Saudi Arabia on lucrative terms, even though superstars such as Lionel Messi and David Beckham have not been scrutinized following their ascension to the MLS in America. Several Premier League players, including N'Golo Kante, Fabinho, and Kalidou Koulibaly, have joined Henderson in the Middle East, with the former Liverpool captain taking on a £700,000-per-week contract at Al-Ettifaq.

TOM COLLOMOSSE: Lucas Digne, a defender for Aston Villa, is a target for Saudi Pro League team Al-Hilal less than 18 months after joining the club in a £25 million contract. The France full-back is unlikely to be included in Unai Emery's first-choice starting XI in the season, and Saudi reports suggest Al-Hilal - who have already signed Ruben Neves and Kalidou Koulibaly from Wolves and Chelsea respectively - is going to move for Digne. Despite being contested in certain circles at the time, Mail Sport announced on July 14 that Villa were willing to sell Digne.

Following their 3-1 victory over a young Blues side, Aldershot's National League team took a cheeky dig at Chelsea. Although the first-team stars of Stamford Bridge are on tour in the United States, a Blues XI made up of club children against Aldershot at the club's Recreation Ground. Chelsea took the lead through academy star Ronnie Stutter just two minutes into the game, but Aldershot went on to win the game thanks to goals from Kwame Thomas, Lorent Tolaj, and Jack Barham. Aldershot commemorated their triumph by trolling them on Twitter, rubbing salt into their wounds from the side five leagues above them in the football pyramid. The National League team tweeted: 'A cool win over mid-table opposition on Saturday,' despite a surprise victory.'

Despite Al-Hilal's permission to speak with the French star after they unveiled a world record £259 million bid, Kylian Mbappe has said he has no intention of playing in Saudi Arabia. Since refusing to sign a new one-year deal, Mbappe has been put up for auction by the French champions. The bid came earlier this week, and PSG were always likely to accept it as president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has no intention of losing him for free next year.

Fulham owner Tony Khan has argued that Saudi Arabia have the funds to 'get away with anything, including murder,' as Al-Hilal continues to pursue a transfer for Aleksandar Mitrovic. Two bids for the Serbian forward were turned down by Fulham last week, with their latest bid of £35 million being knocked back by Fulham. According to reports, the Cottagers are asking £52 million for their star striker, who is reportedly furious at being priced out of a transfer and has told families that he will never play for Fulham again.

Aleksandar Mitrovic, a Fulham striker, has reportedly told family members that he will never play for the team again after deciding that he has been priced out of a transfer to Al Hilal, Saudi Arabia. Last week, the Cottagers turned down a second bid from Al Hilal for Mitrovic for £35 million. The 28-year-old striker has three years on his deal but has told Fulham that he is eager to make the switch.

Since admitting that his children don't want to live in Brazil, Thiago Silva has played down fears about his potential Chelsea departure. Following Mason Mount, Kai Havertz, Mateo Kovacic, and others' departures, the Blues have been migrating in west London this summer. And it doesn't seem that a slew of players, including Kalidou Koulibaly and Edouard Mendy, has made lucrative moves to Saudi Arabia, but it doesn't appear to be ending soon.

Bruno Fernandes is the newest name to be targeted by the Saudi Arabian Pro League, with the Manchester United star reportedly having already rejected more than two bids from Saudi clubs. Moves to the middle east have dominated summer transfer window, with a slew of Premier League and European players seduced by Saudi Arabia's financial lure. However, Fernandes, the Red Devils' chief, isn't about to join the exodus of names, and has repeatedly refused to talk to Saudi clubs, according to Fabrizio Romano. Romano believes there has been more than one bid for the 28-year-old, and that part of his decision to decline the transfer was due to him becoming Manchester United's new captain. 'Understand Bruno Fernandes refused more than two Saudi proposals a month ago.' Romano's tweetings were shared on Twitter.

Fulham have turned down a second bid for Aleksandar Mitrovic in the region of £35 million from Al Hilal. Fulham has three years on hire, but the 28-year-old striker has told Fulham he is eager to make the switch. Tony Kahn had already declined the Cottagers' opening bid of £25.5 million, but the striker had reportedly begged Tony Kahn to accept their new bid. Mitrovic believes that the club is receiving fair compensation for his services, and that he has played a key role in the club's recent success. The Serbian played a vital role in Fulham's return to the Premier League in 2022, scoring a record 43 goals to securing their promotion back to the top flight.