He didn't want France — Ex-teammate reveals how Kante was told to reject African country

Jamie Vardy has revealed that former teammate N'Golo Kanté originally intended to represent Mali internationally before his Leicester City colleagues convinced him to accept a call-up from France.

Speaking on a podcast, the English striker detailed the behind-the-scenes conversations that took place during their historic 2015/16 Premier League campaign.

The 35-year-old midfielder was born in Paris to Malian parents, and he maintained deep ties to his community and a famously humble demeanour throughout his meteoric rise to stardom.

Vardy explained that this background heavily influenced the player's early international ambitions.

"Do you know the mad thing as well? The mad thing originally, he didn't even want to play for France," Vardy stated. "He wanted to represent Mali for his dad, but France had called him before Mali did."

Despite France making the first official approach in early 2016, Kante was reportedly hesitant to accept the invitation from Didier Deschamps.

The Leicester City squad quickly caught wind of his reluctance and decided to intervene at the training ground: “Like we were at the training going, Yeah, the fuck are you? What are you actually thinking about? You're like, they're gonna win," Vardy recalled.

The collective nudging from his teammates proved successful, as Kante ultimately accepted the call-up and made his senior international debut for France in a 3-2 victory over the Netherlands on March 25, 2016.

The decision proved to be a massive sliding doors moment for both the player and the European nation. Kante went on to establish himself as one of the greatest players in the history of the French national team.

The legendary midfielder was instrumental in securing global supremacy, guiding France to the 2018 FIFA World Cup title in Russia and later adding the 2020-21 UEFA Nations League crown to his resume.