Argentinian legend, Diego Maradona was full of praise for his former club Napoli’s Senegalese defender, Kalidou Koulibaly, whom he said is the best ‘defender in Serie A’, adding “if he was white he would be playing for Real Madrid or Barcelona”.

“He is phenomenal, the best defender in Serie A. There is a lot of racism around him,” the Argentina legend said. “If he was white, he’d be playing for Real Madrid or Barcelona!” Maradona told Piuenne .

Koulibaly has been the standout defender in the Italian league this season and has received rave reviews  for his contribution in Napoli’s startling title challenge, which they narrowly missed out to Juventus. The giant 6ft 5in defender dubbed ‘K2’ by fans is a robust, physically imposing central defender with great touch on the ball.

Koulibaly, 24 was born and raised in the Lorraine region of France, in Saint-Dié-des-Vosges. With his both parents from Senegal, the Napoli defender was eligible to play International football for both Senegal and France and in early September 2015, Koulibaly changed federations and joined the Senegal national football team, despite having played for the French U-20s in 2011. He made his Senegalese debut on 5 September 2015 in an AFCON qualifier against Namibia in a 2–0 victory.

His decision to shift allegiance to Senegal came as a shock to the French national team coach, Didier Deschamps, who was not aware that Koulibally had already played for Senegal. He said in an interview with Canal Football TV, “I’ve also been following Koulibaly,” blissfully unaware that the defender had already amassed five caps for Senegal.