Etoile reach agreement for Ivorian Coulibaly

by Staff Reporter

Thursday Aug 29, 2019. 14:00

Etoile du Sahel say they have reached an agreement with Egyptian giants Al Ahly over the signing of Ivory Coast striker Souleymane Coulibaly.

Coulibaly’s case is a curious one, with the player effectively barred from signing for Etoile before he pays US$450,000 he owes Ahly.

That stems a fine he received of US$1.436-million when he breached his contract with Ahly in May 2017, essentially walking out on the club despite having three more years to run.

He did play for Scottish side Partick Thistle in the last campaign after being given special permission by FIFA.

“We have reached an initial agreement with Ahly regarding Souleymane Coulibaly, and we are waiting to continue the legal procedures,” read a statement on the club’s official Facebook page.

The 24-year-old Coulibaly was developed at Italian side Siena and later English side Tottenham Hotspur, though he never played a senior game for them.

He did play for lower league sides Grosseto and Pistoiese in Italy, Peterborough United and Newport County in England, and Kilmarnock and Partick Thistle in Scotland.

He joined Ahly for the 2016/17 season and scored six goals in 11 appearances in all competitions, but left after only four months saying he felt oppressed at Ahly and unsafe in Egypt, which was in breach of his contract.