N’golo Kante: Photos of Chelsea Midfielder Interacting with Residents in Native Mali Go Viral

• Kante missed France’s first game of the international break for ‘personal reasons’
• The Frenchman traveled back to his native Mali, and was spotted interacting with locals in the area
• Photos and videos of Kante in his humble element have since gone viral online, delighting fans

Chelsea midfielder N’golo Kante took advantage of the international break to visit his native Mali and photos of him in the country are warming hearts online.

Kante is regarded as one of the humblest football players around, and this is mainly because of his seamless ability to interact with his fans from different walks of life.

Earlier in the week, it was reported that Kante left the France camp for ‘personal reasons’.

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While his departure left a lot of questions, fans have since learnt why he decided to overlook international duty as far as football is concerned.

On Saturday, March 26, photos of Kante emerged on social media to suggest that the midfielder had gone back Mali.

If the photos are anything to go by, Kante interacted with locals in Bamako without any paparazzi, bodyguards or flashy cars.

In addition, Kante casually took photos with the locals, and one would be forgiven to thinking he was one of them.

Social media users were typically impressed by Kante’s humility, and they took to various platforms to praise the World Cup, Premier League and Champions League winner.

“Easily the most likeable, humble, nicest player the world has seen. If only just 5% more players were like this man the world would be at peace and much much happier.” One said.

“If they tell you, this guy right here is richer than Davido, most of y’all won’t believe,” added another.

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“This mindset of ‘if you’re rich, everyone must see that you’re rich’ is one of a poor individual. It’s so boring, man is earning 2 times your yearly income in one week, give it a rest,” another added.

“I can't have that kind of money and still maintain this simple,” a Twitter user by the handle

@ndubuisi_cgazza joked.

Because of his trip to Mali, Kante missed France’s 2-1 win over Ivory Coast, but is expected to be back in time to possibly feature for his country against South Africa in Lille.

France see off Ivory Coast in friendly

Meanwhile, Sports Brief reported of how Aurelien Tchouameni struck two minutes into added time on Friday as France came from behind to beat Ivory Coast 2-1 in a friendly in Marseille.

The Monaco midfielder headed the winner from a corner as an experimental French team beat an Ivory Coast side filled with familiar names.

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Arsenal striker Nicolas Pepe gave Ivory Coast a 19th-minute lead when he drilled a shot off the inside of the near post and past Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.

Olivier Giroud replied with a header five minutes later to close in on France's all-time international scoring record.