“Some stories last but never end. Welcome to Fenerbahce, N’Golo Kanté,” the Turkish club wrote on Xu, after announcing on Tuesday that the France 2018 World Cup winner’s transfer had fallen through, blaming the failure on Saudi club Al-Ittihad, where Kanté played.
Fenerbahce, which did not specify how long Kante signed, stated in a lengthy press release that Al-Ittihad officials “incorrectly entered” the data related to the Frenchman’s transfer into FIFA’s Transfer Management Software (TMS), just as the transfer window was closing in Saudi Arabia, reports Hina.
But President Erdogan, who flew to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for a meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, used his influence.
Thank you
https://t.co/D1mzOcgdu5 pic.twitter.com/8NQUtZXq4E
— Fenerbahçe SK (@Fenerbahce) February 4, 2026
“On behalf of myself and the club, I would like to express my gratitude to our president, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, for his unwavering support that enabled the successful completion of this process, which will contribute to the development of Fenerbahçe and Turkish football,” Istanbul club president Sadettin Saran wrote on Wednesday.
According to Turkish media, the 34-year-old Kanté also refused to train on Tuesday to put pressure on his club’s management and force him to move to Fenerbahçe, where he has been linked for several weeks.
FIFA then approved the transfer of the French player, who is expected to arrive in Istanbul on Wednesday evening.
Kante, who has made 65 appearances for the French national team so far, wants to play for a club competing in the Europa League in order to stay fit for the World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada (June 11-July 19).
(Vijesti.ba)
