Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly has revealed that John Terry hung up on him during their phone call together, discussing his reasons for doing so.
The Senegal international has taken the number 26, iconic as Terry wore it during his time at Chelsea.
The former Chelsea captain joined the club at the age of 14 before going on to become the Blues’ third top appearance maker of all time, playing 717 matches for the Blues and scoring an impressive 67 goals from central defence.
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Koulibaly will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of Terry, who won plenty of silverware during his time at Stamford Bridge.
Speaking to the press,as quoted by football.london, Koulibaly admitted that he hopes to be at Chelsea for a long time.
He said: "I hope I will be here for a long time. It's true I am 31, but I know I can give some years here. I want to give everything for the club. They have a lot of confidence in me, so I want to show them on the pitch that they made a good choice. I will give my best to give everything because I am really happy here and I want to show everybody they made a good choice.
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"This team is a fantastic team with fantastic players, winners. There's a big staff, big supporters, a big society, so I am really happy because from the first day I am like a baby in a shop. I am scoping everything, and I am really happy. I want to give them everything on the pitch, and at 31 years old, I am at a good moment, in a good city, and at a good club. So I want to stay a long time here."
The Senegal international then continued to discuss the moment that he rang Terry to ask for permission to take the number 26.
There was much confusion in the Chelsea fanbase, with the squad number not retired despite Terry’s service to the club.
When asked about the conversation with Terry, Koulibaly said: "It's true I was nervous a bit because I was waiting to sign my contract with Chelsea. It happened the night before, at one o'clock. I was happy, and I wanted to know which numbers were free.
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“The team manager told me some numbers, but he didn't tell me the 26, so I asked, and he said that John left it in 2017 and nobody had taken it from that time.”
The defender continued to reveal that he even asked former Chelsea man Gianfranco Zola, who saw his number retired.
"I was asking whether it was retired or that nobody wanted to take it. I asked Gianfranco Zola, who I know well because we have the same person working on our business in Italy, I spoke to him and he told me the story of Chelsea because I need to know everything when I come somewhere. I asked a lot of questions to him about the club,” he continued.
"I asked him for the number for John because I wanted to ask him about the jersey.”
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This is when Koulibaly phoned the former Chelsea captain, who was not convinced that the call was real as he hung up on the defender.
Koulibaly explained: “He gave me the number directly, and I called him.
“In the beginning, he didn't believe it was me. He thought it was a joke, so he put down the phone and called the team manager to ask if it was really me.”
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Once confirming that Koulibaly’s number was indeed real, the pair had a conversation before Terry allowed the defender to take the iconic number ahead of the new season.
Koulibaly concluded: "After I asked him respectfully that I wanted to take his number – and I know it was for him a very important number – but it is an important number for me because I took it directly when I went to Napoli, and I wanted to keep it here at Chelsea. When he told me yes, I was really happy because I know what he did for the club, the supporters, and the city here.
"It was very important for me to ask him and he gave me his answer. I was happy, and I wanted to tell everybody that I asked him before because I don't want to be disrespectful to a legend of the club."
Koulibaly will be hoping to cement his place in Thomas Tuchel’s side as Chelsea hope to challenge at the top of the Premier League once more.
Topics: Chelsea, John Terry, Kalidou Koulibaly, Football
Nick Emms