Baleba used Instagram to express his deep appreciation for the club that brought him to English football. He acknowledged the warmth he received upon his initial arrival.
“I came here at 19 with little English and no idea what this club would become to me,” he wrote. “Brighton only asked me to be myself. The staff who make the club run so well. The teammates who took the time to understand me, on the pitch and off it. The nights at the Amex when I heard my name from that stand always made me feel at home.”