N’Golo Kante, the esteemed French World Cup winner, has reached an agreement to join Al Ittihad, the reigning champions of the Saudi Pro League, on a three-year contract after his Chelsea tenure concludes this summer, as announced by the club on Tuesday.
Kante, whose official Chelsea contract expires on June 30, will link up with Karim Benzema at the Jeddah-based club, becoming the latest prominent figure to make the move to Saudi Arabia following Cristiano Ronaldo’s transfer to Al Nassr in January.
Al-Ittihad stated in a press release, “The contract with Kante was finalized on Tuesday, June 20th, following the successful completion of his medical tests at a specialized medical centre in Dubai. This acquisition comes as Al-Ittihad, the recent Saudi Professional League champions, seek to fortify their squad.
“Kante’s arrival at Al-Ittihad marks one of the most high-profile and influential signings in the club’s history, demonstrating their ambition to attract top-tier players to the Saudi Professional League.”
According to reports, the 32-year-old midfielder is set to earn approximately €86 million ($109.78 million) per year under his new deal.
In February, ESPN reported that Kante was close to signing a contract extension with Chelsea, but no agreement was finalized, prompting the midfielder to conclude his seven-year spell at Stamford Bridge.
After playing a pivotal role in Leicester City’s remarkable Premier League title triumph in 2016, Kante made the move to West London, becoming the first player since Eric Cantona in 1993 to secure back-to-back English top-flight titles with different clubs.
His success continued as he lifted the FA Cup in 2018 and won the Europa League the following year, culminating in the ultimate triumph of claiming the Champions League crown in 2021. However, injuries limited his appearances to just nine across all competitions during a challenging last season for Chelsea.
Despite the club’s substantial investment of over £600 million in new signings since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital assumed ownership in May, Chelsea finished a disappointing 12th in the Premier League.
The managerial carousel saw Thomas Tuchel and his replacement Graham Potter both depart during the campaign, with Frank Lampard assuming interim charge.
With the recent appointment of Mauricio Pochettino as manager, Chelsea is bracing for another summer of changes, with several players, including Christian Pulisic, Mateo Kovacic, and Mason Mount, potentially departing the club.
