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Kalidou Koulibaly: 'Chelsea managers, bosses affected my form'

:Headline: Kalidou Koulibaly: 'Chelsea managers, bosses affected my form':
New Al-Hilal defender Kalidou Koulibaly claims that he failed to produce his best form at Chelsea due to the decisions taken by the club's managers and hierarchy.
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Kalidou Koulibaly has acknowledged that he found it difficult to produce his best form during his one year at Chelsea.

Last summer, the Blues paid a reported £33m to secure the signing of the long-serving Napoli defender, who was brought in as a replacement for Antonio Rudiger.

Koulibaly's time at Stamford Bridge started positively enough, with the centre-back scoring in the 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur in August, but he was sent off in the following game at Leeds United.

Although the Senegal international showed glimpses of his ability, he never really recovered from a calamitous performance at Elland Road and spent time out of the team.

In total, Koulibaly made 29 starts and three substitute appearances in all competitions, but Chelsea's lack of qualification for Europe led to him becoming an obvious option to leave West London.

With new head coach Mauricio Pochettino allegedly eager to use Levi Colwill, Koulibaly effectively became at least fifth choice in the pecking order below Thiago Silva, Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile.

The decision has since been made to sign for Al-Hilal, with the 32-year-old said to have moved to the Saudi Pro League outfit for a fee in the region of £17m.

Speaking in an interview with Corriere dello Sport, Koulibaly suggested that he enjoyed his time at Chelsea and had no regrets over the transfer.

However, he has hinted that the constant changes behind the scenes and decisions made by the club's hierarchy and various head coaches negatively impacted on his form.

Koulibaly said: "With Chelsea, I had a great experience. The Premier League is fantastic. Lots of intensity, lots of goals, very fast players, great talents.

"They expected the Koulibaly from Napoli, but I don't think my season has been that bad. I needed time: in one year, I couldn't demonstrate what I would have wanted due to the choices of the manager and the club."

He added: "I've always been serious and professional, but I don't like being on the bench doing nothing. I prefer a place where they want me, where I'm at the centre of a project and I can be an example to young people."

Koulibaly was initially signed to work under Thomas Tuchel, but he spent much of the campaign playing under Graham Potter or Frank Lampard.

There were also frequent changes in system, Koulibaly either playing in the middle of a back four or the left-hand side of a defensive three. body check tags ::

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Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool16123137162139
2Chelsea17105237191835
3Arsenal1796234161833
4Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest179442319431
5Bournemouth178452721628
6Aston Villa178452626028
7Manchester CityMan City178362925427
8Newcastle UnitedNewcastle177552721626
9Fulham176742422225
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton176742726125
11Tottenham HotspurSpurs1772839251423
12Brentford177283232023
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd176472122-122
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham175572230-820
15Everton163761421-716
16Crystal Palace173771826-816
17Leicester CityLeicester173592137-1614
18Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1733112740-1312
19Ipswich TownIpswich172691632-1612
20Southampton1713131136-256
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