N’Golo Kante, a French professional footballer, was born on 29 March 1991. He plays as a central defender for Premier League club Chelsea. Kante is widely considered to be one of the best midfielders in the world and is highly praised for his defensive skill set and work rate.
Kante made his senior professional debut in 2012 with Boulogne, where he was a substitute in one Ligue 2 game. He also played the entire season in the third division the next year. Kante joined Caen, a Ligue 2 side, on a free transfer. He finished third and was promoted to Ligue 1. He remained with the club for another year.
Kante was a key player in Leicester City’s maiden Premier League win in 2015 for a fee of PS5.6 million. Kante joined Chelsea in 2015 for a fee of PS32 million. He won the league again, becoming the first outfield player since Eric Cantona (1992 and 1993) to win consecutive English league titles. He was also awarded the FWA Footballer of the Month, the PFA Players’ Player of the YEAR, the FWA Footballer of the Years, the UEFA Men’s midfielder of the years, the FA Cup, the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Champions League. The UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup.
Kante made his senior international debut in France in 2016, and was part of the team that finished second at the 2016 European Championship. Kante was the French Player of The Year in 2017. This was the first time that a Premier League player had been named French Player of the year in seven years. Kante was also a key member of 2018 FIFA World Cup winning team 12 months later.
| Full name | N’Golo Kante |
| Date of birth | 29 March 1991 (age 31). |
| Place of birth | Paris, France |
| Height | 1.68m (5 ft 6in) |
| Position(s) | Central midfielder |
| Club information | |
| Current team | Chelsea |
| Number | 7 |
Personal life
Kante is a practicing Muslim. Kante was born to Malian parents in Paris. They immigrated from Mali in 1980 to France. He was raised in a small apartment in Rueil-Malmaison in Hauts-de-Seine. He lost his father shortly after N’Golo was 11 years old, and his older sibling Niama succumbed to a heart attack just before the 2018 World Cup.
He was named after King Ngolo Diarra, the Bamana Empire’s ruler. His younger sister was also in Suresnes’ youth system. Growing up, his favourite players were Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, and Diego Maradona. He earned a diploma as a vocational accountant while playing for Boulogne at the age of 21.
Boulogne was his first professional job. He commuted on a scooter to work and, as of 2018, he drove a Mini Hatch. This car was easy to learn to drive. Kante acknowledges that he is shy and private, but he also believes that his former teammates (like Jamie Vardy) often exaggerated stories about him.
Kante is known by the nickname “NG” and he loves playing tennis. His go-to karaoke song is Vegedream’s “Ramenez la coupe a la maison”. His initiation at Chelsea was a stressful moment for him. His teammates felt he wasn’t loud enough. Because of his mother’s cooking, his favorite dish is the thieboudienne.
Style of play
Kante is a dynamic, small, and disciplined player. He is well-known for his unstoppable energy and exceptional ball-winning skills as a box to box midfielder at the centre of the pitch. Kante’s strong positional awareness, off-the-ball movement, and ability read the game are some of the reasons for this. His tactical awareness, intelligence and anticipation are his main strengths. He is also adept at playing inside his own half and can playmaking on the counter-attack. Kante is quick on the pitch, and often makes late attacking runs into the box. Kante, a late bloomer, had made only one senior appearance in French football’s second tier. Kante attributes his calm, composed performance on the pitch to his steady climb through the pyramid of the football league.
Kante cites Lassana diarra and Claude Makelele as his inspirations, but insists he has a unique style and approach to the game. He describes it as “false 4”, “relayeur”, carrilero”, “mezzala”, and “carrilero”. Kante’s game is defined as the “dirty job”, or being tasked with doing the dirty work. This includes fetching and retrieving possession. Kante doesn’t necessarily love his job, but he once stated that he finds satisfaction in the “dirty work” of retrieving a ball and protecting his team from an enemy’s attack. Kante had the most tackles in Europe’s top leagues during back-to-back years (14-15 and 16-16). Kante’s first 150 Premier League appearances saw him score 92 wins and 28 losses, as well as 10 goals. He has not been red-carded in five years of playing in the Premier League.
Under Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri, Kante was deployed in a more advanced midfield role–one that he previously played in at Leicester–showcasing his effectiveness in possession and ball-carrying duties. Kante was re-instated in the “double six” holding role by Tuchel in 2021. He was usually partnered by Mateo Kovacic or Jorginho on the right-hand side. Kante was able to disrupt an opponent’s possession play in third quarter and then quickly counter-attack from midfield.
International
As of match played 29/03/2022
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| France | 2016 | 13 | 1 |
| 2017 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 16 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 52 | 2 |
