Al Hilal’s FIFA Club World Cup display show Saudi league is not retirement home – Koulibaly

Senegal defender Kalidou Koulibaly has made it clear that Al Hilal’s performance at the FIFA Club World Cup was a clear testament that the Saudi Pro League was not just a lucrative retirement home for Africa and European players.

Al Hilal bowed out of the global showpiece after a 2-1 defeat to Fluminense, but after an unexpected run to the last eight they have left their mark on the global stage. They had beaten Manchester City 4-3 in the round-of-16.

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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,” Koulibaly told Flashscore.

“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.”

On the rapid growth of the Saudi Pro League, Koulibaly, who joined the Riyadh club from Premier League side Chelsea said: “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.

“Clearly, for me and my staff, it was very important to be able to play in this World Cup. We realised what kind of team we have, the quality of our players, the pleasure with which they work every day. Now we are looking forward to a great season.”

Al Hilal kicked off their campaign with a draw against Spanish giants Real Madrid and they came through the group stage unbeaten with a draw against Champions League regulars Salzburg and a 2-0 win over Pachuca of Mexico.

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