The 2018 French world champion N’Golo Kanté, at the end of his contract with Chelsea, has joined Karim Benzema at the Saudi club Al-Ittihad, AFP learned on Wednesday from an internal source at the club. At the end of his contract with the Blues, the 32-year-old midfielder signed a contract “for three years”, according to this source. After seven seasons with the Blues, Kanté had played very little during the 2022-2023 financial year, only nine games, injured in the hamstrings and groin, notably missing the World Cup in Qatar.
After seven seasons with the Blues, Kanté has had a very complicated season. He played very little in the 2022-2023 financial year, only nine matches, including seven in the Premier League and two in the Champions League. He missed more than six months of this season with a hamstring injury and then a groin injury.
This new arrival in Saudi Arabia echoes the more resounding one on Tuesday. Karim Benzema signed for three years for an as yet undisclosed but staggering amount in the same Saudi club. The first signing was Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, who joined the Al-Nassr club in January for over 400 million euros. Other high-profile teammates could arrive as the kingdom, criticized for human rights abuses, is determined to use football to improve its international image and has petrodollars galore to fulfill its ambitions.
