LONDON — Chelsea star N’Golo Kante is impossible not to like.
The humble 30-year-old, a World Cup winner nonetheless, has proven his credentials once again as one of football’s most modest guys.
The 30-year-old, who has won almost all there is to win for both club and country, was snapped by a fan also doing his supermarket shopping.
Midfielder Kante was spotted by one fan doing his weekly shop at budget supermarket Asda.
Speaking on Twitter, fellow shopper Sarfaz Ahmed said: “Went out for some casual grocery shopping at Asda and look who I bumped in to.
“@nglkante what a player and what a human being! Very kindly took a picture with me and was so polite.
“Listened patiently to what I had to say, so humble for a player of such class!”
It’s not the first time the ex-Leicester City star has proven to be the nicest man in the beautiful game.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
He is no litter bug
Before Kante was rich and famous, earning a reported £290,000-per-week, he grew up in Paris, where he was born to Malian parents.
There he would help his father pick up litter from the streets in the hope of finding valuable waste.
A young Kante would walk miles, which might be why he’s got such a good engine on him as a player.
Can I run to training?
It was the Foxes who brought Kante to our shores in 2015 from Caen.
But, astonishingly, unlike his team mates he didn’t want to get a car and wanted to run to training, which wasn’t quite the done thing.
As Jamie Vardy recalled: “One day he said to us that he was seriously considering running to the training centre each day, which came from the fact that he would always add a little running session for himself.
“In the moment, we were all a bit taken aback and convinced him not to.”
Fine, I will get a car
In the end, Kante did get himself a motor. But it wasn’t a fancy Lamborghini or Mercedes.
No, N’Golo went for a £20,000 Mini Cooper, which is reportedly second-hand. Incredibly, he still drives a Mini Cooper, even after getting involved in a crash with a lorry in 2018.
Stay with me
Acts of generosity aren’t uncommon in Kante’s world.
When former Leicester defender Cedric Kipre struggled to find a home to live, Kante let him crash at his…. with his brother.
“I lived at N’Golo’s house for a month when I was at Leicester,” Kipre told Goal.
“I had a problem with my apartment and he hosted my brother and me. Not everyone would have done it, and it was really nice of him.
“Today, I’m proud to have met someone like him. There is nobody more humble than N’Golo.”
No to offshore tax company
Back in 2018, Kante was rewarded with a new five-year contract worth £290,000-per-week.
It was reported that Chelsea advised him to set up an offshore tax company, but he wasn’t having any of it.
Kante insisted that he wanted to pay full tax, unlike many of his peers.
After hearing the story, French pal Blaise Matuidi said: “I didn’t really follow this story, but I’m not surprised because it is N’Golo.
“He’s perfect, he doesn’t cheat. Just a bit when he plays cards.”
Apologising to an Arsenal fan
Kante even has time for his rival’s fans.
A day after the Blues beat London rivals Arsenal 3-2 in 2018, he bumped into a Gooner, who wanted a photo with the footballer.
Sharky shared his story on Twitter. “Just met this man. Told him I was an Arsenal fan and I was upset about the game this weekend but he smiled at me and said “sorry”. What a guy.”
Doesn’t forget his own fans
That said, it’s his own fans that he values more.
In fact, Kante once turned up at the wedding of a Chelsea fan’s daughter, after turning down the invite originally.
“We became friends when I was introduced to him by a friend and he came to my restaurant Chak89,” Frank Khalid explained.
“I invited him and originally he couldn’t attend because of his commitment to the French national team, but because of his injury he messaged me saying he was coming.
“My family and myself are very close to N’Golo and he was one of the first people to visit me when I had my triple bypass surgery operation in April 2018.
“He stayed till the end and was so nice to everyone and signed autographs and took selfies with the guests.”
Eats curry and watches MOTD
A lot of football fans do this ritual — a curry before settling down to watch the day’s highlights on Match of the Day.
And that’s exactly what Kante did when he missed his Eurostar train back to France. He Googled the nearest Mosque to St Pancras and prayed.
Arsenal fan Badlur Rahman Jalil immediately recognised him and explained how Kante ended up coming back to his to watch Match of the Day.
“I went to the mosque on Saturday evening to pray and we just prayed together. It’s Islamic teaching to invite guests to your house for dinner, so I asked him,” Badlur revealed.
“He came with me and my brother because he was on his own and said he was only going to go home anyway.
“He was on a protein diet so we had a chicken curry. He even had a cup of tea.
“He beat us all at Fifa and then we watched Match of the Day. It was a really nice evening.”
But, the notoriously shy star didn’t want to impose on his team mates and was reluctant to hold the trophy.
Luckily, Steven N’Zonzi saw the issue and told his French team mates to give Kante a go.
It just makes you admire the man’s humility even more. — The Sun
