His July 2023 £86million-a-year deal with Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia seemed to signal his being sent out to pasture following a torrid spell with injuries in the latter stages of his time at Chelsea. Kante previously told L'Équipe: 'For the names that went to Saudi Arabia, I wouldn't be surprised if the Saudi League is better than the French.' But Kante insisted, 'I went to Saudi Arabia to play, and knew if I did well, the door would remain open [to the French national team]. The man the French sing 'stopped Messi' and joke 'is a cheater' was up to his old defensive tricks again in Dusseldorf. After collecting his man of the match trophy, Kante told TF1: 'I'm delighted to be back, it's nice.

Source: Metro June 19, 2024 08:18 UTC