London — New Chelsea signing Kalidou Koulibaly may not yet have had a chance to introduce the Premier League audience to his football skills but he has already gained fans' respect after he called former captain John Terry to ask for his shirt number.
The Senegal defender, who joined Chelsea from Serie A side Napoli two weeks ago, posted a video on social media to share a phone conversation he had with Terry, taking the former England international on an emotional journey.
"John, I wanted to ask you something," the video, recorded one day before the signing of Koulibaly was made official, begins.
📌 July 15th, 2022
Better call…@JohnTerry26 💙
Honored and Proud 🙏🏿#KK @ChelseaFC pic.twitter.com/uYeVA5y7PL
"Like you know, I played with the (number) 26 in Napoli and I see that since you left the club, nobody has taken the 26," the 31-year-old continued.
"I don't know if you retired it or if nobody wants to take it, but I wanted to ask you if it's possible for me to take it."
Terry, who left Chelsea in 2017, wore the number during his near two-decade-long career at the London club.
"Listen, the 26 was very special to me," Terry responded.
"Yeah mate, I really appreciate you calling and it's no problem for me for you to take it, absolute pleasure."
Koulibaly made his friendly Chelsea debut on July 24 when he came on as a substitute in the 4-0 loss against Arsenal, wearing 26 on his back.
Reuters