KANTÉ

Kanté is a practicing 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 N'Golo turned 11 and his older sibling Niama died of a heart attack before the 2018 World Cup. He is 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 favourite 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. K…