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Koulibaly wanted 100m Man Utd move but Ancelotti ‘would have resigned’
Oct 30 2025 14:16 · By onefootball.com · 31 Reads
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Former Napoli star Kalidou Koulibaly says he wanted to join Manchester United in 2018, but Carlo Ancelotti threatened that he would have resigned if the Partenopei had accepted a €100m offer from Old Trafford.
Former Napoli centre-back Koulibaly wanted to join Manchester United in the summer of 2018, but the then-Partenopei boss Ancelotti managed to avoid his exit.
Koulibaly, currently under contract with Al-Hilal , spoke to the Podcast Zack en Roue Libre (via TMW) about his transfer situation at that time.
Kalidou Koulibaly at Napoli in 2022.
“Napoli had received an offer worth €100m from Manchester United , but they rejected it,” said the defender.
“Ancelotti came to me and said: ‘I came here to win the Scudetto. What do you want to do?’
“I replied: ‘I wanted to leave, why?'”
“He [Ancelotti] said he knew about he offer, but if I had left, he would have resigned the following day.”
Koulibaly, however, strongly wanted to leave the club.
“I thought my time at Napoli was over; I had given my all. I had spent four seasons there, and I could have had the best contract of my career,” he said.
epa12137404 Italian Carlo Ancelotti attends a press conference where he was presented as new head coach of men’s Brazilian national soccer team in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil , 26 May 2025. EPA-EFE/Antonio Lacerda
“In the evening, Ancelotti called me and said: ‘Come to my room.’ He opened the door and said: ‘Ah, mon ami Kalidou!’ He spoke French, we were both wearing a pyjama; I was shocked.
“I explained to him that I wasn’t happy and that I thought the president had lacked respect towards me for the way he spoke.”
Ultimately, Ancelotti convinced Koulibaly to remain at Napoli . The Senegal international only left the club in 2022, joining Chelsea for circa €40m including add-ons.
He only spent one season at Stamford Bridge, joining Saudi side Al-Hilal in the 2023 summer transfer window.
Koulibaly scored 14 goals in 317 appearances with Napoli . He won one Supercoppa Italiana and one Coppa Italia during his time at the club.