N’Golo Kanté is a practising Muslim. He was born in Paris to Malian parents who migrated to France from Mali in 1980. He grew up in a small apartment in Rueil-Malmaison, Hauts-de-Seine. His father died shortly after he turned 11 and his elder sibling Niama died of a heart attack before the 2018 World Cup....CONTINUE READING THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
He was named after King Ngolo Diarra of the Bamana Empire. His younger sister was also in the youth system at Suresnes. Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Diego Maradona were his favorite players growing up. At the age of 21, while playing for Boulogne, he earned a diploma in vocational accounting.
At the start of his professional career at Boulogne, he commuted to training on a kick scooter and as of 2018 drove a Mini Hatch—his first purchase in England because he found it easy to learn to drive in.
Kanté is aware of his public perception as a shy and private individual, but also said that stories about him by current and former teammates, like Jamie Vardy, were often exaggerated.
Kanté’s nickname is “NG,” and outside of football, he enjoys playing tennis. His go-to karaoke song is Vegedream’s “Ramenez la coupe à la maison”.
During his initiation at Chelsea, which he described as a “stressful moment,” his teammates said he was not loud enough. His favourite dish is thieboudienne because of his mother’s cooking
