*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19 February 2024
Souleymane Coulibaly (born 26 December 1994) is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a striker for ES Sétif.[1]
Early life
As a 13-year-old, Coulibaly emigrated to Italy to avoid conflict in Ivory Coast.[2] He joined his father who had married an Italian woman.[3][4]
Club career
Siena
Soon after arriving in Italy, Coulibaly signed for Junior Camp Arezzo Football Academy, one of the best academies in Tuscany.[5] He played in the Allievi Regionali team and after a few months President Umberto Zerbini suggested his name to Siena.[6] In 2010–11 he played 10 games for the Siena under-19s, scoring once.
He scored twice in a 7–1 win for Spurs youth over Inter Milan in their second group game of the NextGen Tournament on 31 August 2011. He also opened the scoring in their third group game away at PSV Eindhoven, where they won 2–1. On 22 December 2011, Coulibaly scored an injury-time winner against Stevenage in the FA Youth Cup, followed by a goal in a 2–1 victory over Cardiff City in the fourth round on 11 January 2012. He made his first team debut as a 65th-minute substitute in a pre-season friendly against Stevenage on 18 July 2012.
Grosseto (loan)
On 25 January 2013, Coulibaly joined Italian Serie B club Grosseto on loan until the end of the season where he scored two goals from 12 appearances.[8]
Bari
In September 2014, Coulibaly was sold to Bari and was immediately loaned to Pistoiese.[9]
Peterborough United
Coulibaly was revealed as a Peterborough United player after his trial at the club on 20 July 2015 along with Andrew Fox and Kieran Sadlier. He started in five games for Peterborough, came on nine times as a substitute, and scored a total of eight goals.[10] On 24 March 2016, he joined Newport County on loan until the end of the 2015–16 season. He made his Newport debut on 2 April 2016, starting in a win 1–0 defeat versus Yeovil Town. He scored his first goal for the club on 23 April 2016 against Luton Town.
After being in talks with two clubs based in Cairo, Egypt, Al Ahly and Zamalek,[14] Coulibaly chose to sign with reigning champions Al Ahly on a three-and-a-half-year contract on 24 January 2017. A transfer fee of £800,000 was paid to Kilmarnock.[13] On 25 May 2017, Coulibaly left Egypt and returned to the UK without telling anyone.[15] On 4 June 2017, Coulibaly posted on Twitter, saying that he had felt oppressed at Al Ahly and had left Egypt because he did not feel safe.[16] After the tweet other African players that played for Al Ahly said that they felt safe and happy, such as Flávio Amado who said "what Coulibaly said made him laugh".[17] Al-Ahly submitted a complaint to FIFA after Coulibaly left the club and requested compensation.[18][19] On 25 April 2018, a FIFA commission found against Coulibaly, ruling that a fine of $1,436,000 be awarded to Al Ahly.[20]
Partick Thistle
In August 2018, Coulibaly joined Scottish Championship side Partick Thistle on a deal that is subject to international clearance.[21] The Egyptian Football Association rejected a request for clearance,[22] but FIFA granted a temporary certificate instead in early October.[23] He was released by Partick Thistle in May 2019.[24]