Al-Ittihad midfielder N’Golo Kante is already splashing the cash after his lucrative move to the money spinning Saudi Arabia as he has acquired Belgian third-tier club Royal Excelsior Virton.
Kante will become the chairman of Excelsior Virton, taking over the helm from Flavio Becca on the 1st of July.
It is the exact day the Frenchman will be officially joining Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad from Chelsea.
Following N’Golo Kante’s acquisition of Royal Excelsior, the club put out a lengthy statement confirming the news.
Excerpt from the statement reads: “Flavio is obviously extremely happy to be able to hand over the keys of the club to N’Golo Kante.
“He is a player of great class, not only for his footballing qualities but also and above all for his unanimously recognised human qualities.”
Royal Excelsior Virton additionally wrote that Kante will further the structuring of the Belgian club.
They wrote: “Driven by his passion for football, the will of N’Golo Kanté is to continue the structuring of the club in order to consolidate its foundations, stabilize the staff and eventually reconnect with the tradition of training Royal Excelsior Virton, via its Youth Academy.”
The club revealed that their aim is to institute their local roots so as to become a leading force in their base.
Royal Excelsior Virton added: “The club aims to establish its local roots in order to become a driving force in football in Gaume and in the province of Luxembourg.”
The Begian club are in the process of getting back their professional permit, and they will play in the Belgian National Division 1 in the 2023-24 season.
The Belgian club N’Golo Kante acquired revealed they are debt free
Royal Excelsior Virton expressed that they are without any debt and a board of directors will be created in the next few days.
The 2018 World Cup winner started his career in Boulogne before he was signed by Caen in 2013.
He assisted Leicester City to win the Premier League in the 2015-16 season prior to joining Chelsea.
While at Stamford Bridge, the 30-year-old won the Champions League, Europa League, Premier League and FA Cup amongst other trophies.
Kante was also instrumental in Les Blues winning the 2018 FIFA World Cup which was hosted by Russia.
The former Caen defender becomes the latest high profile active footballer to acquire a football club.
Cesar Azpilicueta, Hector Bellerin, Cesc Fabregas, Jamie Vardy amongst others are names of professional players who also own football clubs.
Ivory Coast International Wilfred Zaha and rapper stormzy also announced that a deal is in the pipeline to acquire AFC Croydon Athletic.
Royal Excelsior Virton finished in 12th place and last in the Challengers Pro League last term, just missing out on survival by one point.
Overview on Royal Excelsior Virton
Royal Excelsior Virton is a Belgian football team, from the city of Virton based in Luxembourg.
Where will they be playing next season?
The club will play in Belgian National Division 1 from 2023-2024 season after relegation from Challenger Pro League in 2022-2023.
Royal Excelsior Virton’s nickname?
They are known as Les Gaumais.
When was the club founded?
The club was founded in 1922 which is approximately 101 years ago.
The name of Royal Excelsior Virton’s stadium?
They play at the Stade Yvan Georges in Virton.
Manager of Royal Excelsior Virton?
The name of their manager is José Jeunechamps.
Information regarding the staff of Royal Excelsior Virton?
Chairman: N’Golo Kanté
Chief executive officer: Alex Hayes
Sporting director: Tom Van den Abbeele
Manager: Christian Bracconi
Assistant manager: Nicolas Gennarielli
Goalkeeper coach: Jérémy Dumesnil and Clément Lommers
Fitness coach: Arnaud Scalco
Video analyst: Grégory Verheyden
Club doctor: Florian Foulon
Physiotherapist: Marc-Antoine Palma and Samuel Bodet
Team Manager: Thiebaud Delmelle
Delegate: Georges André
Match equipment and logistics manager: Arnaud Gratia
