N’Golo Kante has Al Ittihad contract terminated after extreme measures to force through transfer

N’Golo Kante has had his Al Ittihad contract terminated and is set to join Fenerbahce, talkSPORT understands

The midfielder refused to train on Tuesday in an attempt to force through his move to Turkey.

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The 34-year-old was expected to move to the Turkish giants earlier this week with the club’s having agreed a fee prior to the transfer being blocked by FIFA.

Kante, whose contract with the Saudi Pro League club expires this summer, had already agreed terms with Fenerbahce.

Deal blocked at first

However, the Turkish outfit claimed an administrative error by Al Ittihad saw the deal collapse just as Kante was preparing to fly to Istanbul to tie up the deal.

The error also saw Youssef En-Nesyri’s move in the opposite direction scuppered with the Fenerbahce striker part of a transfer swap deal with the French World Cup winner.

But Kante has now got his way with the path clear for him to complete his switch to Fenerbahce in a £3million deal.

The transfer window in Turkey does not close until Friday, giving Kante two full days to seal the switch.

A Fenerbahce statement claimed they had followed all correct procedures to secure the Frenchman.

It read: “The transfer process involving N’Golo Kante and Youssef En-Nesyri with Al Ittihad Club has been meticulously conducted by our club in all aspects, as planned.

“The opposing club’s incorrect entry of the relevant TMS information, the transactions could not be completed within the transfer registration period, independently of our club.

“The opposing club has not completed the transactions without providing any justification to us.”

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Kante’s impending exit will be a major blow to Al Ittihad, who recently failed in their attempts to sign exciting Portuguese midfielder Gustavo Sa from Famalicao.

An exodus of star names

The Saudi side are already reeling after losing striker Karim Benzema to title rivals Al Hilal in a move that infuriated Cristiano Ronaldo, while being unable to bring in any new faces.

Losing Kante serves as another huge blow and all but end their hopes of qualifying for the AFC Champions League Elite – Al Ittihad are currently sixth in the Saudi Pro League.

The midfielder joined Al Ittihad in 2023 when his contract with Chelsea had expired.

Initially, his move to the Middle East had no bearing on his international career with Les Bleus boss Didier Deschamps having selected Kante for Euro 2024.

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Kante featured in every game for France in their run to the semi-finals where they were beaten by eventual winners Spain.

However, Kante played just once for Les Bleus in 2025, featuring against Ukraine in November.