Koulibaly undecided about future as Barcelona tables offer

Napoli's Kalidou Koulibaly (front) celebrates after scoring the 1-0 lead during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Juventus FC and SSC Napoli in Turin, Italy, 22 April 2018. EPA/ALESSANDRO DI MARCO

by Phumzile Ngcatshe

Sunday Jun 10, 2018. 14:40

With Senegal’s Kalidou Koulibaly focusing on the upcoming 2018 FIFA World Cup tournament, the battle for his signature is intensifying behind the scenes.

This comes after Barcelona have reportedly joined the race to sign the Napoli defender and will battle for him against English Premier League sides in Arsenal and Chelsea.

Koulibaly was one of Italian Serie A’s most talented defenders last season and several top clubs in Europe are being linked with his signature.

According to Sport, Barca have made a shocking bid to sign the 26-year-old and the Spanish La Liga giants, in fact, have reportedly put €40 million on the table plus the likes of Paco Alcacer, Andre Gomes and Denis Suarez.

Interestingly, Gomes and Suarez, are among Napoli’s summer transfer targets but that doesn’t mean that it will be easy to reach an agreement with Napoli.

“I don’t know how much I am worth, 120, 150, 60, I don’t know but these things always make me smile,” Koulibaly recently said.

“It means that hard work leads to results, Napoli take care of me and it’s better to be loved rather than hated.

“I am ok, my family is happy and my parents are happy to see me there. Let’s see what happens in the future.”