Sports

N’Golo Kante turned down offshore payments from Chelsea

Published

6 years ago

November 14, 2018

France midfielder N ’ Golo Kante refused to have part of his Chelsea salary paid under advantageous tax terms in Jersey or to receive offshore payments for his image rights , according to a Football Leaks investigation published on Wednesday .The report by French investigative site Mediapart says that six weeks before Kante left Leicester for Chelsea in 2016 , a company called NK Promotions was registered in Jersey , in an apparent attempt to pay 10 percent of the players ’ income abroad to avoid tax .

Mediapart was unsure whether the company was set up by Chelsea or Kante’ s relatives .

At first , Kante ’ s lawyer suggested his client would “ approve ” the set -up , but last year the 27 – year -old insisted through his tax advisor that he refused to take any offshore payments .

“ N ’ Golo is inflexible , he simply wants a normal salary , ” Kante ’ s tax advisor said in May 2017 in an email sent to Chelsea executives.

“ After reading numerous press articles on image rights and tax investigations against players and clubs , N ’ Golo is increasingly concerned that the set – up proposed to him could be questioned by the tax authorities .

“ N ’ Golo decided that he did not want to take any risks . ”

Kante has become a fan favourite in England since winning a memorable Premier League title with Leicester in 2016 , before lifting the trophy again the following season at Chelsea and being named PFA Player of the Year .

He also started all seven of France ’ s matches as his country won the World Cup in Russia this year .

AFP .