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Ancelotti's Ultimatum: Koulibaly Stays Amid £88M Bid

10/31/2025

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Summary

Story summary

Kalidou Koulibaly, Napoli defender, faced an £88 million bid from Manchester United in 2018.
Carlo Ancelotti, Napoli manager then, threatened to resign if Koulibaly left, persuading him to stay.
Koulibaly recalled Ancelotti's intervention in a podcast, saying, "If you leave, I also resign."
After four years at Napoli, he joined Chelsea in 2022 and Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia in 2023.
The episode shows how managers can influence transfer decisions.

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Story summary

Kalidou Koulibaly, Napoli defender, faced an £88 million bid from Manchester United in 2018.
Carlo Ancelotti, Napoli manager then, threatened to resign if Koulibaly left, persuading him to stay.
Koulibaly recalled Ancelotti's intervention in a podcast, saying, "If you leave, I also resign."
After four years at Napoli, he joined Chelsea in 2022 and Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia in 2023.
The episode shows how managers can influence transfer decisions.