French World Cup-winning midfielder N’Golo Kante has signed with Saudi Arabia’s reigning champions Al-Ittihad on a free transfer from Chelsea.
At the end of the month, when his contract with the Blues expires, the 32-year-old will formally join Nuno Espirito Santo’s team, ending his illustrious seven-year stay at Stamford Bridge.
Despite Kante’s recent injury troubles, Chelsea was initially eager to sign him to a new contract, and there was hope that a deal might be done.
N’Golo Kante recently expressed his gratitude to Chelsea for the success he experienced at Stamford Bridge after agreeing to join Al-Ittihad of Saudi Arabia when his contract with the Blues expired. The midfielder was given the option to accept a new deal and stay in West London, but he chose to move to the Saudi Pro League instead.
In his 269 appearances for Chelsea, the Frenchman helped the team win the Premier League, FA Cup, Champions League, and Europa League. In addition to winning the World Cup with his country’s team, he also won the UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup. While Chelsea has achieved some of their highest points with Kante’s assistance, the West London team has recently struggled to stay healthy.
Kantes farewell message
“Thank you Karim, nice to see you again. Thank you for your words, I’m very pleased to play with you, with the best player in the world and I’m very excited to play for the Tigers in front of the fans.”
“Ever since I joined, that need to win has been there. It’s the Chelsea spirit and you feel it straight away. The players feel and all the coaches we’ve had, they’ve all shared a burning desire to win titles and trophies. I’ve always wanted to be at the top and being at Chelsea, they helped me achieve my dream. Here I’ve celebrated great victories, and great trophies and I’ve been able to grow as a footballer.