Kudos to the Saudi Arabian top flight, as they are making major moves this year. N’Golo Kante joins Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema as big, brand name players making the switch to the Saudi Pro League.
According to worldwide football transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Kante is joining Al Ittihad, and this transaction is already well underway. Romano posted the following on his Twitter account earlier today:
Documents are being signed today for N’Golo Kanté to Al Ittihad as revealed last week — done and sealed soon. ????? #CFC
Kanté salary will be around €100m, first part of medical tests already completed.
Here we go confirmed, end of an era at Chelsea. pic.twitter.com/jUyRZZb9yS
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 13, 2023
According to his report, N’Golo Kante will now receive a massive salary increase, bringing his annual wages to about €100 million. This transaction process is speeding along as he’s already completed the first portion of his medical. Things are developing very rapidly with the French international and holding midfielder, as it wasn’t that long ago we actually heard talk of him staying at Chelsea and being handed a fresh contract extension.
Honestly though, this is probably for the best, as he needs a new start. He’s an extremely high quality player, who is very accomplished (even winning a PFA Player of the Year Award), but he’s also exceedingly injury prone.
Multiple injuries have stalled out his career lately, and some new beginnings might just be what the doctor ordered.
It’s good for Chelsea too, as they need a major midfield makeover this summer. Kante now moves to a Saudi outfit based in Jeddah, the city where coincidentally, the world’s tallest/first 1km in height building has been planned and construction began. But the Jeddah/Kingdom Tower project halted in 2017, and no one actually knows if/when it will be completed.
It’s fitting because no one knows if the career of N’Golo Kante (which certainly reached great heights) will ever be the same again. It’s building project. Because after all, every single one of us are a work in progress/not the finished product, and that includes N’Golo Kante.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.