June 21, (THEWILL) – French international midfielder, N’Golo Kante, will bid Chelsea farewell after seven fruitful years at Stamford Bridge.
Al-Ittihad, the Saudi Pro League club, announced on Tuesday that they have acquired the services of the Chelsea man as a free agent. Kante, who originally joined Chelsea from Leicester City in 2016, will be teaming up with compatriot and Ballon d’Or holder Karim Benzema at Al-Ittihad. To put an end to any speculations, the club took to Twitter to assert: “Don’t believe in fake news. Kante is an Ittihad player now.”
According to reports monitored by THEWILL, the 32-year-old midfielder has inked a lucrative three-year deal with Al-Ittihad, with an estimated annual salary of around £86 million. Benzema, who bid farewell to Real Madrid after an illustrious 14-year spell, recently joined the Saudi Arabian champions on a two-year contract worth over €100 million.
During his time at Chelsea, Kante played a pivotal role in their success, contributing to triumphs in prestigious competitions such as the UEFA Champions League, English Premier League, UEFA Europa League, and FA Cup. However, his previous season was hampered by injuries, resulting in his absence from 38 matches across all competitions.
Chelsea, struggling without his presence, concluded the season in 12th place in the league. It was one of their worst-ever season finishes since they were considered one of the top six sides in the EPL.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
