Malian defender Salif Coulibaly joins Al-Ahly instead of Sundowns

Mali defender Salif Coulibaly has joined Al-Alhy from TP Mazembe as a free agent on a two-year deal.

Having also been linked with South African giants Mamelodi Sundowns following the expiry of his TP Mazembe contract, Coulibaly settled for the Egyptian giants.

“Mohamed Fadl, the manager of the club's contracts, announced Al-Ahly’s contract with Salif Coulibaly, defender of Congolese club TP Mazembe and Mali, for two seasons,” said Al-Ahly in a statement.

“Fadl added that the player joined Al Ahly on a free transfer. However, the announcement of the deal was delayed until Coulibaly was in Cairo and underwent medical examination.

“Fadl confirmed that Coulibaly’s arrival came in line with the vision of French coach Patrice Carteron, especially that he was a TP Mazembe player during Carteron’s leadership of the Congolese team.”

Coulibaly will be the fifth foreign player at the Cairo giants and his arrival will force Carteron to sacrifice one player to satisfy the Egyptian Football Association quota rule of four foreigners per team.

South African midfielder Phakamani Mahlambi looks likely to be the player who could be used to free space following interest for his services in his home country.

Coulibaly arrives at Al-Ahly boasting some wealth of experience having won the 2015 Caf Champions League title with TP Mazembe.

Al-Ahly are preparing to resume their Champions League group stage campaign against Township Rollers of Botswana on July 17.