Al Hilal defender Kalidou Koulibaly has disclosed that the club have proven that the Saudi League is not just a lucrative retirement home for European and South American players.
Recall that Al Hilal bowed out of the Club World Cup on Friday after a 2-1 defeat to Fluminense in the quarter-finals of the tournament.
Simone Inzaghi’s team beat Manchester City 4-3 in the round of 16, delivering the biggest upset of the tournament and one of the competition’s most thrilling games.
In a chat with TribalFootball, Koulibaly stated that Al Hilal have left their mark on the global stage after the team’s impressive display at the tournament.
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“We showed that the teams from Saudi are very strong, very powerful and we have a lot of good players. Everyone thinks that when we went there we only went for the financial argument but we showed that we are working over there,” he told reporters.
“We showed it at this World Cup and every team who played against us can see that we have talent. We want to improve the league, we have improved a lot in two years,” he added.
“I was there at the beginning and I see today it is very tough. We saw it last year and next year it will be tougher as more players are coming. The Saudi league is taking a nice place in the football world and we are happy because we are part of a very nice project and want to show all the world that the football is improving,” he said.
