N’Golo Kanté joins Karim Benzema in Saudi Arabia

2023-06-07 16:01:00

At the end of his contract in June with Chelsea, N’Golo Kanté will bounce back in Saudi Arabia and join the Saudi club Al-Ittihad, which has just recruited Karim Benzema.

By VD with AFP

At the end of his contract at Chelsea, the 32-year-old French international midfielder signed for three seasons for Al-Ittihad.
© Adam Davy / MAXPPP / PRESS ASSOCIATION IMAGES/MAXPPP

Published on 06/07/2023 at 4:01 p.m.

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Lhe 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 the 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.

A salary estimated at 100 million per year

Due to his injuries, the pillar of the Blues during the 2018 World Cup was forfeited for the World Cup in Qatar and seems to have been on the decline for several months. “The club has demanded a full medical examination,” the source said on condition of anonymity, who did not specify the details of the contract, which comes as the Gulf monarchy buys a series of players for its national saudi league. According to several media, the salary of the winner of the Premier League in 2017 and the Champions League in 2021 could reach 100 million euros per year.READ ALSOKarim Benzema: a legendary departure and the promise of the Saudi jackpot

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.