N’Golo Kante splashes Saudi cash as former Chelsea midfielder BUYS football club after lucrative Middle East transfer
N'GOLO KANTE has bought a football club following his big-money move to Saudi Arabia.
Earlier this month, it was confirmed the former Chelsea midfielder, 32, had sealed a deal with Middle East outfit Al-Ittihad.
The transfer will see World Cup winner Kante pocket £86million over the course of his four-year deal.
And he has already begun re-investing the lucrative earnings he is set to receive.
It has been announced he will become the owner of Belgian third division side Royal Excelsior Virton from July 1.
He will take over from Flavio Becca - who has been in control of the club since 2018.
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Royal Excelsior Virton revealed the news with the slogans "Together, aways higher" and "Small town, big dreams".
They also released a club statement which read: "Flavio is obviously extremely happy to be able to hand over the keys of the club to N'Golo Kante, a high-class player, not only for his footballing qualities but also and above all for his unanimously recognised human qualities."
In 2019, immediately after Becca took ownership of the club, Royal Excelsior achieved promotion to the second tier of Belgian football.
They nearly secured back-to-back promotions to the top flight but narrowly missed out during the 2019/20 regular season, finishing second behind OH Leuven.
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Then in the 2022/23 campaign they dropped back down to the third tier.
However, the club are debt free as they embark on a new chapter with Kante.
The ex-Leicester and Chelsea man has enjoyed a sensational playing career in Europe which includes winning two Premier League titles, the FA Cup, Champions League and Europa League.
He will now link up with Real Madrid icon Karim Benzema at Al-Ittihad - who won the Saudi Pro League title last season, finishing five points ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr.
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