Why Kante rejected Mourinho to join Conte at Chelsea

The Man Utd manager tried to convince the French midfielder to join Old Trafford this summer, but he chose Stamford Bridge after leaving Leicester.

N'Golo Kante is Chelsea's second signing under new manager Antonio Conte. The 25-year-old French midfielder moved to Stamford Bridge on a five-year contract for a fee of £35 million after helping Leicester City win the Premier League last season.

Kante surprised everyone when he chose to join Chelsea under new coach Conte, even though the team did not qualify for the 2016-2017 European Cup. Photo: CFC.

Jose Mourinho had previously called Kante directly, trying to lure him to Old Trafford. He wanted the French international to become a mainstay in Man Utd's new squad, and was willing to pay a transfer fee of $33 million plus performance-based bonuses.

But the efforts of the “Special One” are not as convincing as Conte's project at the West London club.

“It was great that Mourinho also called me. I listened to his arguments about why I should move to Man Utd,” Kante revealed to the Sun newspaper on September 2.

“But at that time I was hesitating between staying at Leicester, or going to Chelsea. I actually had some discussions with Man Utd. But when I talked to everyone, I had a good feeling with Conte at Chelsea,” the 25-year-old midfielder added.

“At Chelsea, I was in a dressing room full of stars. For me, being a football star is not a concern. That position is for the highest level, with extraordinary qualities. Yes, I feel I am a player with the necessary qualities, a fairly complete player. But I am not an outstanding player, not a technically gifted player,” Kante said modestly, despite quickly establishing himself in Chelsea’s first team earlier this season.

Mourinho really wanted to bring Kante back to refresh Man Utd's midfield earlier this summer.

Kante was born in Paris in 1991 and started playing professionally for Boulogne in 2011. In August 2015, the midfielder joined Leicester from Caen for just $7.5 million. In his first season in England, the midfielder became one of the stars of the league and played a key role in Leicester's shock title win. At the recent Euro 2016, the midfielder was a member of the French team that reached the final (losing to Portugal).

At Chelsea, he is paid $160,000 a week.

Nguyen Phat

According to VNE