N’Golo Kanté joins Saudi club Al-Ittihad
N’Golo Kante with the jersey of his new club Al-Ittihad, June 21, 2023. AL ITTIHAD FOOTBALL CLUB / TWITTER The Saudi football club Al-Ittihad announced on Wednesday June 21 that…
N'Golo Kanté joins Saudi club Al-Ittihad
N’Golo Kante with the jersey of his new club Al-Ittihad, June 21, 2023. AL ITTIHAD FOOTBALL CLUB / TWITTER
The Saudi football club Al-Ittihad announced on Wednesday June 21 that it had recruited international midfielder and 2018 French world champion N’Golo Kanté (Chelsea), who joins his compatriot Karim Benzema.
“Don’t listen to fake news. Kanté is an Ittihad player now! » tweeted the Jeddah club with a photo of the footballer wearing his yellow and black striped jersey, followed by a video of Benzema welcoming his new team-mate.
“I am very excited to play with the Tigers, in front of the fans at Al-Jawhara (the jewel)”the club’s stadium in Jeddah, Kanté said in the same video.
“Welcome to our new Kanté tiger”for his part, wrote, also on Twitter, club president Anmar Al-Hailee.
Concerns about his health
Kanté, 32, signed a three-year pre-contract with Al-Ittihad in early June, but the Saudi club had conditioned his final recruitment on medical examinations, the player having suffered multiple injuries this season.
The native of Rueil-Malmaison, near Paris, lived through the desert last season, away from the field for more than six months due to a hamstring injury, then to an adductor. He won the Champions League with Chelsea in 2021, champion of England with Chelsea in 2017 and Leicester in 2016.
With 53 selections for the France team, Kanté remains a part of the Blues, even if he could not participate in the last World Cup in Qatar due to his health problems. He was also offered a new contract by Chelsea, who he joined in 2016.
N’Golo Kanté finds the Ballon d’Or 2022 Karim Benzema, 35, welcomed with great fanfare in early June in Jeddah by tens of thousands of Al-Ittihad supporters, after 14 seasons at Real Madrid.
The World with AFP
