Top 10 Astonishing Facts about N’Golo Kante

N’Golo Kante against Newcastle. Photo by Brian Minkoff-London Pixels. Wikimedia Commons

Top 10 Astonishing Facts about N’Golo Kante

N’Golo Kanté  was born on 29th March 1991. He is a French professional footballer. Kante plays for Premier League club Chelsea and the France national team as a central midfielder. Kanté is widely regarded as one of the world’s best midfielders, with many praising his work rate and defensive acumen.

Kanté made his senior professional debut with Boulogne in 2012. Appearing as a substitute in one Ligue 2 match, and spent the entire season the following year in the third division. Following that, he joined Caen on a free transfer, finished third, and was promoted to Ligue 1. He remained with the club for another year. Kanté joined Leicester City in 2015 for a fee of £5.6 million.

Kanté was a key member of the Leicester City team that won the Premier League by surprise in 2016. The following year, he joined Chelsea for a fee of £32 million. He won the league again. Kante become the first outfield player since Eric Cantona in 1992 and 1993 to win consecutive English league titles with different clubs. 

He has won the FA Cup, the UEFA Europa League, the UEFA Champions League, and the UEFA Super Cup with Chelsea. Kante has been named PFA Players’ Player of the Year, FWA Footballer of the Year, and UEFA Men’s Midfielder of the Year.

1. Kante worked as a trash picker as a child

Kante was raised in a small flat in Rueil-Malmaison, a small and densely populated Paris suburb. This was a known area for having the best of people leaving for menial jobs in the big city.

Kante was born into a Muslim family and worked as a trash picker as a child. As a trash picker and grabber, he would walk for kilometers around the eastern Paris suburbs looking for valuable waste to collect. He would deliver to small recycling companies for quick cash.

N’Golo Kante lost his father when he was 11 years old. Kante, the eldest of four siblings, grew up with a strong sense of responsibility.

His father’s death left his mother with the arduous task of parenting.

2. Kante’s jersey number is similar to one of his favorite players 

Chelsea’s No.7 shirt is worn by N’Golo Kante. Ramires’ squad number was taken up by the defensive midfielder following his move to Jiangsu Suning.

Adrian Mutu, loanee Maniche, and Andriy Schevchenko have all worn the No.7 shirt for the club during the Premier League era.

Didier Deschamps, a former defensive midfielder, wore the No.7 during his one season at Stamford Bridge, and Kante now wears the same position and number as France’s head coach.

3. Kante decided to be a footballer at the age of 8

N’Golo Kante in the field. Photo by @cfcunofficial (Chelsea Debs) London. Wikimedia Commons

Kante saw a different France after the France 98 World Cup, a France of opportunities. He saw a country whose football glory was largely due to migrants.

Back then, as a 7-year-old boy used to menial jobs in the Paris suburbs, Kante was already used to seeing and hearing big names from the FIFA 1998 World Cup, and shortly after turning 8, he aspired to pursue football as a career after noticing opportunities close to his home.

4. He commuted to training on a kick scooter

Kick scooter. Photo by John Robert McPherson. Wikimedia Commons

The endearing Frenchman is as humble as ever. He rode a kick scooter to training at the start of his professional career in Boulogne. In 2018, he started driving Kante a Mini Cooper S.

According to the story, when he first moved to England, the 27-year-old had to be persuaded to buy a car because he assumed he would just run to training every day.

Kante also owns a Mercedes Benz-GLS worth $70,545 dollars.

5. Kante never pays when he dines at Babbo

Babbo. Photo by CORRETOR-CARVALHO. Wikimedia Commons

Willian and David Luiz, two of Kante’s friends, own a restaurant in London. Kante frequently has lunch or dinner with their friends and teammates.

He never turns down a free meal at his friends’ restaurant. He always manages to avoid paying for the food there.

6. Kante’s net worth is at 23 million Euros

Many people are surprised that N’Golo Kante has such a large net worth. His net worth is currently 23 million euros and has risen significantly over the years.

The reason for this is that, despite paying his taxes in full, Kante is one of Chelsea’s highest earners. With a weekly salary of £150,000. It’s easy to see why he’s so valuable.

7. Kante pays his taxes in full

N’Golo Kante. Photo by Dim50. Wikimedia Commons

He may not tip at his friends’ restaurant, but he does pay his taxes. He never minces words with them and pays his taxes in full up front.

Chelsea had offered to pay his taxes. This would be done through an offshore account to avoid certain charges and receive smaller tax breaks. Kante refused repeatedly. He simply wants a regular salary and to pay his taxes like everybody. 

8. Kante wanted to become an accountant as backup 

Although he was certain of what he wanted to do professionally, he was also prudent in maintaining backup plans. If becoming a footballer didn’t work out, one option was to become an accountant. 

9. There’s a song the French national team made for Kante

Following France’s World Cup final victory over, Croatia, the squad serenaded the Chelsea midfielder to express gratitude for his efforts in helping them emulate the 1998 team.

The French players’ chant went viral over the summer. It was most likely due to the lyrics, which highlighted how he stopped Lionel Messi in the round of 16 match against Argentina.

10. Kante was a late bloomer

A quick, small, and disciplined player, Kanté is a box-to-box midfielder in the center of the pitch known for his relentless energy and excellent ball-winning abilities. This is due to his excellent positional sense, off-ball movement, and ability to read the game. 

He is also fast up and down the field and frequently makes late attacking runs into the box.

Kanté was a late bloomer, having only made one senior appearance in French football’s second tier by the age of 21. He attributes his composed and calm demeanor on the field to his gradual rise through three levels of the football league pyramid.