How N’Golo Kante & Edouard Mendy’s Football Careers Have Been Intertwined Long Before Joining Chelsea

• It appears the destiny of N'golo Kante and Edouard Mendy were fused together prior to their move to English giants Chelsea
• Both born in France, their meteoric rise from obscurity to fame, especially at Chelsea is synonymous with that of a well-scripted Hollywood movie
• Currently playing as teammates, Kante and Mendy are enjoying life at Stamford Bridge and could be tagged as legends of the club before the end of their careers

The stories of French midfielder N'golo Kante and Senegalese shot-stopper Edouard Mendy are dangerously inseparable akin to Siamese twins.

The transition of both players from the French third-tier to elite football in England is well documented but unquestionably, worth revisiting.

Walking down memory lane, a fixture between AS Cherbourg and US Boulogne would produce arguably the most affable football characters presently - Mendy and Kante.

How Kante and Mendy met for the first time in a football game nine years ago

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Playing in front of a meagre 880 spectators at the Stade Maurice-Postaire, both Mendy and Kante were not in the starting lineup in a game that ended 3 - 0 in favour of US Boulogne.

Kante was fortunate to have received a few minutes when he replaced Guillaume Loriot after 61 minutes as his side triumphed over Mendy's Cherbourg.

Mendy, on the other hand, watched the entirety of the game from the bench as he watched his side disgraced at their home grounds.

Since the fixture on January 8, 2013, both players have moved on with their success, best described as meteoric.

What happened to N'golo Kante after 2013

The diminutive midfielder soon joined Ligue 2 side Caen and helped them to Ligue 1 qualification before moving to Leicester as a replacement for Argentine Esteban Cambiasso in 2015.

His move coincided with the fairytale title tilt by the Foxes in the 2016-17 season and joined Chelsea in the following season.

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Since his move to the London-based outfit, Kante has gone on to win another Premier League title, UEFA Champions League, Super Cup, FIFA World Cup with France and Club World Cup.

How about Edouard Mendy

Mendy went from reserve goalie to unemployed for over a year before joining Marseille in 2015 as their fourth-choice custodian on the recommendation of a friend and former teammate, Ted Lavie.

He would join Ligue 2 side, Stade Reims, in the 2016-17 season, helping the Red and Whites to top tier football and subsequently joining Rennes after three years.

From Rennes, he switched to Chelsea, where he has since won the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super League, FIFA World Cup and the Africa Cup of Nations, all within 18 months.

Personally, he has also been awarded the FIFA Best Goalkeeper award.

Edouard Mendy wins yet another accolade

Edouard Mendy has been named the Sportsman of the Year by French Television Show Quotidien following his exploits with Chelsea and Senegal.

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The Chelsea goalie led the Blues to the UEFA Champions League, European Super League and Club World Cup success and was also the hero of Senegal as they won the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in their history.

Mendy took to Instagram to express delight after he received the award for his display in the 2021 year in review.