Collecchio, 7 August 2025 – Abdoulaye Ndiaye's words in his presentation at the Mutti Training Centre in Collecchio, with CEO Federico Cherubini in attendance.

PARMA IS A SPECIAL TEAM

“Hello, everyone. I'd like to thank you for being here. My first words of thanks go to Parma who chose me, so also to the manager and technical staff, and to all of those who have provided me with such a warm welcome. Parma is a historic club and I am very happy to be here. Parma is a very special team, there are many young players and the manager himself is young and this is no coincidence. Parma are heavily focusing on youth. What I can bring to this team is being a defender, as well as my experience, dynamism and physicality, but I am also here to learn as a young guy. However, I have had a bit of experience with the teams that I played for in the past. I want to learn a lot here as it will be my first time playing in Serie A, but I want to show, with determination, what my qualities are'.

DOING MY ALL FOR THE TEAM

“You must form a solid defence, and to do so, everyone must defend well and avoid conceding goals. We will work on this, and we are already doing it. The staff are helping me a lot, and I will give my all as a defender, and for this team. My message to the fans is: 'I am here to defend Parma's colours and I will give all I have for the team on the pitch, and I will fight to ensure that the club stays where it is today'. A three or four-man defence? We are professional footballers so we must be ready to adapt. I have played in a three-back and a four-back at both Lyon and Brest. If tomorrow the manager decided to change to a three, I would be ready, as I would be if it was a four. I can adapt to any system'.

KOULIBALY'S ADVICE

“I am a modern defender and I love to be on the ball, but I equally love to defend. Today, defenders must be versatile. Before coming to Parma, Koulibaly, my Senegalese friend, spoke to me, and he spoke very highly of Serie A, and this team. He told me to come here. Serie A is certainly well adapted to me as I am a player who loves to defend and loves to be on the ball'.

READY FOR SERIE A

“Serie A is a special competition that values the defence and defenders. It's also a very tactical league. I managed to speak to other players who competed in Serie A, and they all said it will be a league that will give me the chance to improve. There are many competitive teams in the league, and plenty of good forwards. That's what I am here for and I am hoping to improve and show what I can do. I played with important players including Barcola at Lyon. Here at Parma, I have seen many strong players, but what pleased me most is the team. I reckon that it's more important being strong collectively, cohesively and united. I have seen this here and I am sure that we will manage to build a great team to give Parma what it deserves. My Champions League debut? Above all, playing in the Champions League was a pleasure and an honour. All players dream of playing in it one day. I believe that it's one of the best competitions in the World. I cannot explain that feeling, and I was very happy to play in it, to have made my mark and to have gained experience and learned a lot. But this is the past now, a nice memory. I am now focused on this new adventure and giving my all for Parma'.

HAINAUT AND JOUJOU'S FRENCH WELCOME

“It was great coming here and meeting Frenchmen, it made me very happy, and my goal is to learn Italian as it will be very useful on the pitch. I have spoken with them (Hainaut and Joujou) about things related to the football here. I must say that I have settled in well with all my teammates, and that I am very happy'