Former Chelsea Player N’Golo Kante Buys Belgian Side Royal Excelsior Virton

After ending a seven-year-long relationship with Chelsea to join Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad, N’Golo Kanté, has purchased a Belgian third-division club, Royal Excelsior Virton.

Kante will take over from the club’s current Chairman, Flavio Becca on 1 July.

RE Virton revealed the deal in an official statement on Thursday.

In the statement titled, ‘FLAVIO BECCA & N’GOLO KANTE: Together, always higher,’ the club said the decision to sell the club was due to the refusal of professional license unjustly imposed by the Royal Belgian Football Association (URBSFA).

The value of the deal was not disclosed in the official communication.

Becca bought the club in 2018 and took them to the second division for the first time in their history.

But the club was relegated from the second division in the 2022-23 season. However, the club’s books show they are completely debt free.

The club said, “Unfortunately, this momentum was going to be broken by the refusal of the professional license unjustly imposed by the URBSFA. The club is also maintaining legal proceedings to have this injustice recognized.

“Despite this dark period, Flavio has always wanted to ensure the sustainability of the club and, with his management team, has done everything possible to recover this license and maintain the club at the professional level.

“From this unfair episode, it was clear that the search for partners, or even a buyer, was more than an option. The initial project having been broken, the objective was to ensure the future of the club as well as to breathe new life into it.

“Flavio is obviously extremely happy to be able to hand over the keys of the club to N’Golo Kanté, a high-class player, not only for his footballing qualities but also and above all for his unanimously recognized human qualities. Flavio bequeaths a club in good financial health, relieved of all debt.”

A new board of directors will come on board in the coming days, the club said.