N'Golo Kanté

Lore & Background

Kanté made his senior professional debut with Boulogne in 2012, appearing as a substitute in one Ligue 2 match, and played the 2012–13 season in Ligue 2. After that he joined Ligue 2 side Caen in 2013, finished third in the 2013–14 Ligue 2 season and won promotion to Ligue 1 via the playoffs. He stayed with the club for one more year, where he helped lead the team to a mid-table finish. In 2015, Kanté joined Leicester City for a fee worth £5.6 million.

He was an integral part of the Leicester City team that were surprise Premier League champions in 2016. The following year, he joined Chelsea for a fee worth £32 million and again won the league, making him the first outfield player to win consecutive English league titles with different clubs since Eric Cantona in 1992 and 1993. With Chelsea he won the FA Cup, the UEFA Europa League, the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup, and the FIFA Club World Cup. After seven seasons with Chelsea, he left on a free transfer to Saudi club Al-Ittihad during the summer of 2023.

Reader's Guide

Individually, Kanté has been awarded the Premier League Player of the Season, the PFA Players' Player of the Year, the FWA Footballer of the Year, the UEFA Men's Midfielder of the year, and the Trophées UNFP for Best French Player Abroad twice. He was nominated for the Ballon d'Or in 2017 and 2021, but did not win.