N'Golo Kanté Buys His Own Football Team, A Belgian Club Named: Royal Excelsior Virton.

N'Golo Kanté has become a new Club Owner after purchasing a 3rd division side in Belgium. 

it became apparent that the 32-year-old had invested some of the money that he will receive over the coming years into becoming a football club owner.

The France midfielder and his associates, are making a surprising investment having bought Royal Excelsior Virton, who have just been relegated to the third tier of Belgian football, and will play in the country's National Division 1 in the 2023-24 season.

This division is two steps below the country's top tier, the Belgian Pro League. 

The move was announced by the club on Thursday, in an official statement headlined “Small town, big dreams!”

Kante's purchase, has relieved of all debt by their departing owner, and a board of directors will be set up in the coming days as he takes over from Flavio Becca as Chairman of the club, based near the Luxembourg border on 1 July.

It is the same date he is expected join Saudi Arabia Pro League side Al-Ittihad from Premier League club Chelsea.

R.E. Vitron finished in 12th place and bottom of the Challenger Pro League, only missing out on survival by a point, and Kante will be at the head of the rebuilding job at Stade Yvan Georges.

READ MORE: Man City Treble Winning Captain Ilkay Gundogan Joins Barcelona On A Free Transfer.

"Flavio is obviously extremely happy to be able to hand over the keys of the club to N'Golo Kante," said the club in a statement.

"He is a player of great class, not only for his footballing qualities but also and above all for his unanimously recognised human qualities."

With regards to Kante, it added: "Driven by his passion for football, the will of N'Golo Kante 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 RE Virton, via its Youth Academy.

"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.

"Like N'Golo Kante, work, generosity and humility will carry the ambitions of RE Virton for the coming years. With the desire to carry high the colors of Gaume, the province and Wallonia, N'Golo Kante invites all the living forces of the territory to join a project which wants to be unifying and worthy of the supporters of Excelsior. All together, always higher."

As per the statement, R.E. Vitron says that they are continuing their bid to acquire a professional licence, something which is currently being denied by the Belgian Football Association (URBSFA).

Kante began his career in France's amateur divisions in Boulogne, before being spotted by Caen in 2013.

He helped Leicester City win the Premier League in the 2015-16 season before moving to Chelsea.

Earlier this month, he ended his seven-year association with Chelsea to move to Saudi Arabian champions Al-Ittihad.

The 2018 World Cup winner accepted a deal that is allegedly worth 10 times more than the contract that was offered to him by the Premier League outfit.

At Stamford Bridge, Kante won the Champions League, Premier League, Europa League and FA Cup.

He is the latest professional football player to own a club, as he joins Wilfried Zaha and his brother who acquired Espoir Club D'Abengourou, in the fourth tier of Ivorian football, in September 2022 and have big ambitions for the club.

The 30-year-old Crystal Palace forward Zaha and 29-year-old rapper Stormzy whose real name is Michael Owuo Jr have also earlier this week reportedly agreed a deal to buy non-league club AFC Croydon who compete in the ninth tier of English football.

The pair, who ha e been friends, and both grew up in the South London borough, with Stormzy having attended school a short distance from Palace’s Selhurst Park stadium.

They are part of a three-man consortium alongside former Palace head of player care Danny Young.

The Ivory Coast international is set to quit the Eagles this summer with his contract expiring at the end of the month. A £200k-a-week extension offer is on the table, but Zaha has thus far refused to sign it amid interest from other Premier League clubs as well as teams in Saudi Arabia.