Genk President reveals admiration for former player Koulibaly
The 28-year-old, who is being termed as one of the best in the world of football in his position, played for the Belgian club from 2012 to 2014 where he made 64 league appearances.
Koulibaly then moved to Italian Serie A giants Napoli who will face Blauw-Wit in the UEFA Champions League fixture on Wednesday.
Croonen, while talking at 'Punto Nuoso Sport Show' on Radio Punto Nuovo, revealed that he already knew when Koulibaly was playing for Genk that he has the caliber of becoming world’s best defender in the coming years.
“Koulibaly has become one of the best defenders in the world,” he said. “When he came to Genk, he was very young but when he left, I knew he already had the potential to become what he is today. He was not yet at this level where he is now but I firmly believed that he will become one of the best.”
Croonen further went on to explain Koulibaly’s qualities by saying: “He has a lot of qualities combined. He is professional, technical, fast, he is a very nice person to play with. He is very professional and we are really honored that he played for the Genk. It will be special when he will return here on Wednesday.”
When asked whether he regrets selling the Senegal international to Napoli in 2019, Croonen said: “We have no regrets. It was the right price back then.
Obviously the price of Koulibaly is now much more substantial. The reality is that we are a small club in a small competition and it’s hard for us to keep great players with us if a big club comes for them.”
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