By Andrew Paul,

Malian defender Salif Coulibaly  officially left Al Ahly to join Iraq’s Al Shorta SC in the current winter transfer window.

Coulibaly recently played the full 90 minutes with the Red Devils as the team secured a valuable 2-0 home win against AS Vita Club in the first round of the CAF Champions League group-stages, thanks to goals from Nasser Maher and Ali Maaloul.

However, director of football Sayed Abdel-Hafiz revealed that Coulibaly has received an offer from Iraqi side Al Shorta SC and was close to leaving the club.

Salif Coulibaly has only joined Al Ahly last July 2018  summer on a free transfer, making 21 appearances for the Reds while scoring three goals and assisting twice.

On Monday, assistant coach Mohamed Youssef met the player and gave him the club’s flag and a souvenir in recognition of his time with the club and his commitment before Coulibaly departed.

The 30-year-old told Al Ahly’s official website that he’s happy about the period he spent with the Cairo giants and considers this experience to be one of the most important experiences in his football career.