Aurelio De Laurentiis admits raising ‘a wall’ to keep Koulibaly at Napoli

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has admitted raising ‘a wall’ to keep Kalidou Koulibaly at the club.

The 27-year-old has been impressive for the Little Donkeys since he joined the side in the summer of 2014, thus, leaving many Europeans giants scramble for his signature.

However, in September, the former Genk player signed a new deal that will keep him at the club till 2023, with speculations the contract included a €100 million release clause.

On Wednesday, the defender shone in their 2-2 Champions League stalemate with Paris Saint Germain, keeping star forwards Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani at bay.

Impressed with his squad, the club president is delighted to have kept his best players including Koulibaly despite consistent interests from other clubs.

“I have a beautiful squad, I’ve always thought that,” De Laurentiis told Il Mattino as per Football Italia.

“There isn’t a day that goes by where we don’t get agents knocking on our door, but those who have Napoli in their heart will stay here.

“Look at Koulibaly, I erected a wall to keep him here with me, but that’s because he’s always put his heart inside that blue shirt.”

Napoli narrowly missed out on the Italian Serie A title last season to Juventus with four points and will be hoping to lay claim to the diadem this term.

At the moment, they are second behind the Old Lady with 21 points from nine games after seven wins and two losses.