Nine years ago, N’Golo Kante could only watch Chelsea winning the Champions League and dream.
Kante, now 30, was playing for Boulogne’s reserves. He finally made his first team debut on May 18, 2012, having been rejected by the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, Sochaux, Rennes and Lorient for being too small.
Just 24 hours later, Chelsea won the European Cup in Munich as Didier Drogba scored the winning penalty in a dramatic shoot-out which saw them lift the trophy for the first time.
Now, with incredible symmetry and timing, Kante has realised his childhood dream as Chelsea are back in another Champions League final.
"Nine years ago, when I was playing for the reserves at Boulogne and made my professional debut in Ligue 2, I was very hungry and very hopeful in football,” said Kante.
“I didn’t know how far I could go, I just wanted to turn pro and do my best.
"To have got where I am today with Chelsea and to be lucky enough to play in a Champions League final, bearing in mind everything that’s happened in the meantime, is amazing.
"That said, it’s happened little by little, season after season, with wins, with losses, with joy and with disappointment. It’s shaped me as a player, and I think that it’s helped me become the player that I am today.”
Kante is softly spoken, quiet on the pitch and yet has an inner strength which has propelled him towards becoming one of the best defensive midfield players in Europe.
While Chelsea were celebrating that summer after becoming European champions, Kante had to contend with more twists and turns, working his way up from the ninth tier in French football, reaching Boulogne and then joining Caen in 2013 where Leicester spotted him.
Kante has since become a phenomenon in English football, winning the title with Leicester and joining Chelsea a year later in 2017. If there is one player who can stop Manchester City then it must be the France midfielder.
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But those early rejections shaped Kante’s career and only made him more determined to succeed and also silence the doubters.
“I wasn’t necessarily the best or the most talented player in the team, but I gave my best with the attributes I had. Growing up, I started watching videos of great footballers like [Diego] Maradona, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho,” said Kante.
“My friends and I sometimes tried to imitate them, to score like they did. However, I haven't ended up playing like them or in the same position. I was also less gifted than them.
“I had a good number of trials growing up. I was turned down several times by academies. I didn’t see those as failures, personally, but as opportunities to see how I compared to the academy level.
“At that time, I wasn’t telling myself that I had to go through an academy to turn professional. I was just thinking that I had to give my best, no matter what happened and that I’d succeed at a later stage or in a different way. I think being turned down has shaped me as well.”
Remarkably, Kante is not the only player in Saturday’s Champions League final who started out in Ligue 2.
Former Leicester teammate Riyad Mahrez began at Le Havre before moving to the King Power Stadium and is now enjoying the season of his life at City.
Kante added: “We’ve spoken about it. We both realise that it’s exceptional.
"It’s taken a lot of work from before being in Ligue 2 until now, and a lot of perseverance on the pitch and in training. So to be playing a match like this is fantastic.
“But we both want to win, so we won’t be friendly on the pitch. I hope it works out for me, and he’s hoping it’ll work out for him, of course!”
