N'Golo Kanté

N'Golo Kanté is one of the greatest defensive midfielders of his generation. He rose from French lower division football to win back-to-back Premier League titles with Leicester City and Chelsea, a Champions League with Chelsea in 2021, and the World Cup with France in 2018.

After developing at Boulogne and Caen, Kanté joined Leicester City in 2015 and was instrumental in their miraculous Premier League title win. Chelsea paid £32 million for him the following year and he won another league title. During seven seasons at Stamford Bridge he added the Champions League, Europa League, and other honours. He subsequently joined Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia (2023) before moving to Fenerbahçe in February 2026.

For France, Kanté was a key figure in the 2018 World Cup triumph and has earned 69 caps. Injury limited his availability in later tournament cycles but he remains a respected squad member.