Pushed towards the exit in Chelsea, Kalidou Koulibaly and Édouard Mendy had the opportunity to find points of fall in the best performing championships. Despite requests from European clubs, the two African champions preferred to head the Saudi Pro League. The lucrative argument finally won over that of sports performance.
Moreover, the captain of the Lions did not hide this fact. “I cannot deny it, he admits. I will be able to help my whole family to live well, from my parents to my cousins and support the activities of my association Capitaine du Coeur in Senegal. We started building a clinic in my parents’ village (…) I have many projects to help young people”.
Put that way, we have a better understanding of the choice they made. And the least we can say is that the central defender and the Senegalese porter will hit the jackpot in Saudi Arabia. Kalidou Koulibaly has joined Al Hilal for the next three years.
The former player from Naples will receive an annual salary of 25 million euros (16.3 billion CFA francs). It is difficult to refuse such a pactole constituting more than double his emoluments to Chelsea. Arrived at the Merseyside in September 2022, Koulibaly was among the Blues for nearly 10 million euros annually (6.5 billion euros).
That amount would make him the best-paid Senegalese footballer in history. It thus exceeds Sadio Mané whose salary is estimated at just over 20 million euros at Bayern Munich. During his stay in Riyadh, the native of Saint-Dié-des Vosges will pocket the trifle of 75 million euros (plus 49 billion CFA francs), not to mention the revenues related to sponsorship and advertising contracts.
The Lions goalkeeper is leaving Chelsea for Al Ahly after three seasons in the Premier League. Among the Saudi promoted, the former Rennais will see his portfolio considerably upgraded. According to Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, Édouard Mendy signed a three-year contract for an annual salary of 11 million euros (7.2 billion CFA francs), plus 3 million bonuses (1.9 billion CFA francs).
This is almost triple his salary in England where he received 4.5 million euros (2.9 billion CFA francs) per year in Chelsea. For the three years it will spend in the Arabian Peninsula, the Senegalese international will collect the sum of 33 million euros (approximately 21.6 billion CFA francs). An amount he couldn’t have raised in the Premier League with his salary in Chelsea, even with a seven-year contract.
