Liverpool front line compared to 'raptors' by assistant
Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly has revealed he would only ever leave the club to sign for one of three clubs in Europe, including Manchester City. Koulibaly has been regularly touted to make a blockbuster move, particularly to the Premier League, for years.
Kalidou Koulibaly would be open to a Man City move. (Image: GETTY)
Koulibaly has suggested that he would only ever leave Napoli to sign for one of Spain's two heavyweights or Man City if Guardiola is still in charge.
He told Area Napoli: "If I decided to leave Napoli, I would only do it for two, maximum three clubs in the world. I'm talking about [Pep] Guardiola's Manchester City, Real Madrid and Barcelona at the most."
The Senegal international also firmly shut down the possibility of switching Napoli for Juventus or any other Italian club.
"Me at Juventus? Are you crazy? I would never play for another Italian club. I would never go to Juventus , I would not betray the Napoli fans."
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Time is running out for Koulibaly to play under Guardiola at the Etihad Stadium, with the Catalan boss revealing his plan to leave in 2023.
"Next step will be a national team, if there is a possibility. A national team is the next step," Guardiola explained in August.
"After seven years on this team [Man City], I think I'm going to have a stop. I'm going to have to take a break, see what we've done.
"And in the process, I would like to train a South American [team], European [national side], playing a Copa America – I want to have that experience."
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The chance to work with Pep Guardiola at Man City is fading.The chance to work with Pep Guardiola at (Image: GETTY)
Koulibaly will go down as one of the top centre-backs of the current generation, and it's a shame for the Premier League he has never graced English shores permanently.
And given Barcelona and Real Madrid's current financial struggles, it isn't easy to see either splashing out on Koulibaly either.
So Napoli fans can afford to relax over his future, as logic suggests he's in southern Italy to stay for the foreseeable future.