Kalidou Koulibaly has opened up about the "nervous" conversation he had with Chelsea legend John Terry in which he asked to take the legend's iconic No.26 at Stamford Bridge.
John Terry's old number had been vacant at Stamford Bridge since the club's former captain left in 2017. Koulibaly wore the number at his previous club Napoli, and felt he needed to contact Terry to ask him about taking the number.
However, Koulibaly was quite uncertain about asking Chelsea's ex-captain about taking the number. The Senegalese international revealed that Terry initially didn't believe it was him and thought it to be a prank call.
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What did Koulibaly say about the interaction?
"I was nervous a bit but I was really happy," Koulibaly said. "He didn't believe it was me at first. He put the phone down because he didn't believe it was me."
The centre-back also said ex-Chelsea player Gianfranco Zola helped field questions about the No.26 and connect him with Terry.
Koulibaly recorded the conversation and posted it to social media.
📌 July 15th, 2022
— Koulibaly Kalidou (@kkoulibaly26) August 1, 2022
Better call…@JohnTerry26 💙
Honored and Proud 🙏🏿#KK @ChelseaFC pic.twitter.com/uYeVA5y7PL
Why did Koulibaly join Chelsea?
Koulibaly, 31, has been a name long associated with a transfer to England, with several high profile clubs reportedly keeping tabs on him over the years. However, he revealed he has only ever been close to joining one club and that was Chelsea.
"It's true that a long time the Premier League wanted me to come," he said. "I believe in God, so I believe the moment was now.
"Before, no one was ready and Napoli didn't want me to go."
He revealed that in 2016 Antonio Conte attempted to sign him, saying: "I decided with my family and friends to come to Chelsea. Why Chelsea? I think they were the only club that really wanted me.
"In 2016, Conte really wanted me, I was always linked to Chelsea and this time, the timing was good. I came here and I am really happy."
The defender has signed a four-year contract with the Blues.
Premier League 2022/23 TV channels, live streams
| UK | USA | Canada | Australia | |
| TV channel | Sky Sports, BT Sport | USA Network, Telemundo, Universo | — | — |
| Streaming | NOW TV, Sky Go, Amazon Prime | fuboTV, Peacock | fuboTV | Optus Sport |
UK: Matches are carried across Sky Sports and BT Sport streaming and TV platforms, with select matches on Amazon Prime.
USA: Select matches are televised on USA Network (English) and Telemundo or Universo (Spanish), and all three channels can be streamed on fuboTV. The rest of the matches are streamed on NBC platform Peacock for subscribers.
Canada: Every Premier League game streams live and on demand exclusively via fuboTV.
Australia: Fans in Australia can stream matches live and on demand on Optus Sport.
