N’Golo Kante joins Benzema at Al-Ittihad as Saudi clubs continue transfer spree

France World Cup star N’Golo Kante completed his widely expected move to Saudi champion Al-Ittihad on a three-year deal Wednesday after six years at Chelsea

N'Golo Kante won pretty much everything in European football. Now he's trying his luck in the lucrative Saudi league, where he'll have another France superstar for company.

Kante completed his widely expected move to Saudi champion Al-Ittihad on a three-year deal Wednesday after six years at Chelsea, with his new club opening its doors to the 32-year-old midfielder with a series of tweets containing the hashtag “WelcomeBox2Box” — referring to his hard-running style of play.

One of Kante's biggest fans is already at Al-Ittihad — Karim Benzema, the reigning world player of the year and a former teammate with France's national team. He moved there this month.

“One time I told you you are the best player box-to-box in the world,” said Benzema, in a video he sent apparently while sitting in a private plane. “Now I'm happy to play with you again. And of course, at the best team in Saudi. See you in Jeddah.” Kante — all smiles, as ever — sent a reply.

“Thank you Karim — nice to see you again,” he said. “Thank you for your words. I am very pleased to play with you, with the best player in the world. And I'm very excited to play with the Tigers.”

Kante will reportedly earn more than $100 million across the length of the deal at a team coached by former Tottenham and Wolverhampton manager Nuno Espirito Santo. It recently won the Saudi league ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr.

Kante, who won the World Cup with France in 2018, the Champions League with Chelsea in 2021 and has been one of the best players in the Premier League in recent years as a back-to-back champion with Leicester (2016) and Chelsea (2017), has struggled with injuries over the past two seasons.