Chelsea's N'Golo Kante files lawsuit against former agent for fraud

The Paris prosecutor's office has said Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante has filed a lawsuit against his former image agent, citing fraud and breach of trust.

The complaint filed this week by the France international against Nouari Khiari also includes "attempted fraud" and "illegal exercise of the profession of sports agent."

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According to L'Equipe newspaper, which first reported the story, Kante was introduced to Khiari by friends and family members.

The pair started their working relationship in July 2016 but tensions quickly arose and Kante decided to put an end to their partnership a year later, accepting to pay €150,000 for Khiari to severe their professional ties.

The French outlet reports that Kante claims that his former associate kept all the copies of their deal and later pressured him to get more money.

Another cause for their deteriorated relationship was Khiari's attempts to influence Kante's career choices. The report said the agent tried to convince Kante to move away from Chelsea during the 2018 summer to join Real Madrid.

"I was too kind," Kante told L'Equipe. "I wanted to believe in this person's honesty and sincerity. But he was only driven by the financial aspects."