N’Golo Kante admits Chelsea players were ‘not prepared’ for Roman Abramovich’s shock announcement that he wanted to sell the club this week… but urges his team-mates to focus on football because ‘it is the only thing we control’
- Roman Abramovich has made the shock decision to put Chelsea up for sale
- N’Golo Kante has said the players were left surprised by the announcement
- He has now encouraged his team-mates to focus on playing well on the pitch
N’Golo Kante has admitted that the Chelsea squad have been caught off-guard by Roman Abramovich’s shock decision to sell the club.
Having become Chelsea’s owner back in 2003, Abramovich has rarely looked like relinquishing control at Stamford Bridge for much of the last 19 years.
However, following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the 55-year-old opted to hand over the ‘stewardship’ of Chelsea to the trustees of the club’s charitable foundation on Saturday.
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has announced that he is putting the club up for sale
With MPs calling for Abramovich to be sanctioned, the Chelsea owner then went one step further by announcing on Wednesday that he was putting the club up for sale.
The situation has moved at pace in recent days, and Kante has acknowledged that the players did not expect things to play out this way.
‘It’s something we were not prepared [for], it came quickly,’ he told Sky Sports News, as quoted by talkSPORT.
The midfielder has now urged his team-mates to focus on performing on the pitch rather than worrying about what is going on behind the scenes.
‘The only thing we can do, because we don’t control these things, is to do the best that we have always done.
‘Which means that playing football at the best [possible level], for us, for the club, for the fans and see how the things are going and it’s the only thing we can control,’ he added.
N’Golo Kante has said that Abramovich’s announcement has shocked the Chelsea players
He has now called for the team to stick together and to continue to perform on the pitch
Some Chelsea fans may be concerned that Abramovich’s departure could lead to a mass exodus of players in the coming months.
Kante has strongly hinted that he wants to remain in west London, though, to help the Blues continue to push for silverware.
‘Since I came here I’ve spent many great seasons, with the team, the managers and the fans.
‘I hope we can carry on like this, keep winning, and that’s the way I see the future,’ he said.
Kante and his team-mates will be back in action on Saturday when they travel to Burnley as they look to build on their midweek win over Luton in the FA Cup.
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