
Chelsea signed up Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli over the course of the summer transfer window.
The Senegal international wore the No. 26 shirt during his years at Napoli, and he was keen on doing so at Chelsea.
The No. 26 jersey is synonymous with Chelsea legend John Terry, and no one has worn the shirt since Terry left the club.
Koulibaly has revealed how he sought permission from John Terry before using the jersey.
Terry had at first hung up on Koulibaly before they eventually had the conversation.
Asked if it was a nervous phone call to make and how it came about, Koulibaly replied at his unveiling: “Yes it is true. I was nervous a bit because I was waiting to sign my contract with Chelsea and it happened the day before, in the night, so I was happy.
“And the second thing I wanted was to know which numbers were free, and speaking with the team manager he told me some numbers and he didn’t tell me the 26.
“So I asked him for the 26, but I’d done my research before and I’d seen that John left it in 2017 and nobody took it from that time, so I was a bit asking myself, is it retired? Or maybe nobody wanted to take it.
“So I asked Gianfranco Zola, who was a player for Chelsea also who I know very well because we have the same person working for our business in Italy.
“So he put down the phone at first and called the team manager to ask if it was really me. And then after that I asked him respectfully that I wanted to take his jersey, his number. I know that it’s a very important number for him, and for me also because I took it directly when I went to Napoli and I wanted to keep it for here in Chelsea.
“When he told me yes I was really happy because I know what he did for the club, the supporters, the city here and I know that it’s very important to ask him first before wearing it. I wanted to tell everybody that I asked him before [taking it] because I want to be respectful with a legend in the club.”