Salomon Kalou, Per Skjelbred, Thomas Kraft, Alexander Esswein, Marius Wolf and Marko Grujic are leaving the capital’s club at the end of the season, “said Hertha Berlin in an official statement this afternoon.
A bitter-tasting end of adventure for the 34-year-old Ivorian striker, Salomon Kalou. Arrived in the German capital six years ago, from LOSC (1.8 M €), the native of Oume had become a local figure of the Hertha Berlin SC.
But the episode of the video, in full health crisis, will have precipitated its fall. Author of a video, at the beginning of May, in which he knowingly ignores the new sanitary rules, where he can be seen entering the Hertha training center, shaking the hands of his teammates, not respecting correctly the distancing, or make fun of the doctor who gives him the test, before gargling to receive his salary “without playing and without training”, he will have shocked Germany and been suspended until the end of the season by his club.
The Ivorian international with 97 caps (28 goals) leaves on a record of 53 goals and 16 assists in 173 games with Berlin. Kalou ranks 11th in the capital club’s scorers ranking.
The club thanks him and draws a positive balance from his visit. Hertha number 8 also impressed with his discipline and fair play. In six years at the club, the striker has not been kicked once and only six yellow cards are on his record. In addition, the 34-year-old man impressed with his extraordinary warmth and humanity outside the field.
This behavior quickly made the attacker one of the darlings of the blue and white audience and a popular figure among his teammates and staff members. Today, the paths of Kalou and Hertha BSC separate after 2130 days.
I had a fantastic time at Hertha Berlin SC with great teammates, managers and fans – whom I all respect very much. However, I am still very sorry for what happened at the end. This ending doesn’t reflect my good deeds at all, He said.