Senegal skipper and Chelsea centre-back, Kalidou Kulibaly has hailed former Chelsea defenders, Marcel Desailly and Frank Leboeuf who inspired him. Koulibaly, who was born and bred in France, revealed he watched the two ex-France internationals play for France during the World Cup in 1998. The former Napoli skipper made the assertion while naming Chelsea's best elven in the premier league era together with new signings Raheem Sterling, Marc Cucurella, and Conor Gallagher. "Yes. It's true because when I was young in 1998, I went to the World Cup and I saw them play. So I had the luck to see them play. It was an inspiration for me. It was a good example for me and I know that they did well in Chelsea. So it was okay." However, Koulibaly named John Terry as his first-choice centre-back in the best XI. "My first choice will be John Terry I think." Kalidou Koulibaly joined Chelsea during the 2022 summer transfer window for a fee of £33 million. EE/KPE