N'Golo Kanté was born on 29 March 1991 in Paris, France, to Malian parents. He came through the youth ranks at JS Suresnes before joining Boulogne's reserve side in 2010, making his professional debut in May 2012. After a season in the third tier, he moved to Caen in 2013, helping them win promotion from Ligue 2 before attracting interest from England.
Kanté joined Leicester City in August 2015 for around £5.6 million and became central to their improbable 2015–16 Premier League title win, finishing the season with 175 tackles and 157 interceptions — both tops in the division. He then signed for Chelsea in July 2016 for £32 million and won a second consecutive Premier League title, becoming the first outfield player to do so with different clubs since Eric Cantona in 1992–93. His Chelsea career also brought an FA Cup, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup.
A tireless defensive midfielder with exceptional ball-recovery ability and the stamina to cover ground consistently across 90 minutes, Kanté was named PFA Players' Player of the Year, FWA Footballer of the Year, and Premier League Player of the Season in 2016–17, and UEFA Men's Midfielder of the Year in 2021.
On the international stage, Kanté made his senior debut for France in 2016 and went on to earn 64 caps, scoring 2 goals. He was part of the squad that finished runners-up at UEFA Euro 2016 and won the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Noted here as a Chelsea player, Kanté has since moved on and is currently playing for Fenerbahçe in the Turkish Süper Lig.