France midfielder N'Golo Kante arrived on Wednesday night in Istanbul to join Fenerbahce, leaving Al-Ittihad and Saudi Arabia and aiming to further his claim for a place in France's World Cup finals squad.
N'Golo Kanté completes move to Turkey's Fenerbahce
France's N'golo Kante fights for the ball against Ukraine's Yehor Nazaryna during a World Cup 2026 qualifying match against Ukraine in Paris, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025
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Kante, who turns 35 next month, had been set to move to Istanbul earlier but the transfer seemed to have failed due to an administrative error.
The deal had looked all but dead when the Turkish club blamed Al-Ittihad for making the transfer collapse earlier in the day.
Fenerbahce said the deal, which involved Moroccan striker Youssef En-Nesyri moving in the opposite direction, could not initially go through due to administrative errors by the Saudi Arabian club.
The 34-year-old Kanté, who joined Al-Ittihad in 2023, recently returned to the France team and made his 65th appearance for Les Bleus in November in a 4-0 win against Ukraine.
Fenerbahce is chasing its first Turkish league title in 12 years.
In the transfer window it also recruited another France international, midfielder Mattéo Guendouzi, who hopes to reclaim a place in the national squad ahead of the World Cup.