Jose Mourinho once uttered a line that came to be repeated when heaping praise onto club stalwart Cesar Azpiliceuta.
"Azpilicueta is the kind of player I like a lot," said during Mourinho's second stint in 2014. "I think a team with 11 Azpilicuetas probably could win the competition [Champions League] because football is not just about the pure talent."
Not to dismiss Azpilicueta's significant contribution, but Thomas Tuchel and Chelsea would only need one N'Golo Kante to win the European Cup seven years later. Kante has unequivocally been one of the club's greatest signings and transformative players as he rides off into the sunset in his humble Mini.
Few players in Chelsea's entire history can rival Kante's influence over his teammates, along with helping his team reach greater heights.
In what has become a period of staggering underperformance matched by inflated fees, Kante represents a previously cherished era of astonishing value at Stamford Bridge. A £30million fee from Leicester due to a release clause is laughable within the current market. Bear in mind this was shortly after his breakout season in the Foxes' 5000/1 Premier League triumph, choosing a chaotic-looking Chelsea who had just finished 10th.
Gary Lineker, tweeting in some bitterness about Kante's exit from his beloved club, claimed that Kante's arrival at Chelsea would probably lead to a Premier League title – his prophecy proved accurate.
READ MORE: The one moment that cost Chelsea N'Golo Kante contract after $87m transfer rejected
I will never forget watching Kante live in a Chelsea shirt for the first time in the early weeks of that 2016/17 campaign. And this is where, those who have been lucky enough to witness Kante's talent live, appreciate his genius.
The grand covering of space, the impeccable reading of danger, the lung-bursting sprints on and off the ball which never seem to break a sweat on his brow. This was a new dimension being uncovered in a central midfielder.
As would become a tedious point a few years later, Kante would be branded a "holding midfielder" something that underplays what Kante is and should be regarded as.
The pairing of Kante with Nemanja Matic formed the dynamic base of Antonio Conte's title-winning 3-4-3. The balance between the Frenchman and the Serbian was masterful. Both are physically dominant in different ways, both capable of directing attacks, and both also capable of shielding the defence. These are traits that have sadly been lost, or forgotten, in discussions about what makes an effective midfield at Chelsea.
Kante was awarded PFA Player of the Year for reaching the astonishing feat of consecutive titles with two different clubs. From a domestic sense this would be the peak of Kante's achievements but not the summit of his legacy.
Difficult periods followed with Conte, the change in position under Maurizio Sarri and the arrival of Frank Lampard. Although Chelsea's overall standards dipped and wider issues arose, Kante's performances still remained incredible. Some visual reminders for you to chew on:
Harry Kane bundled off the ball and tumbling to the floor as Kante drove with the ball at Wembley to initiate the winning counter-attack against Spurs that Marcus Alonso would finish.
His one-man all-action display under the lights at Camp Nou where Chelsea were beaten comfortably by Barcelona, but Kante still rivalled Lionel Messi as the best player of the night.
The Europa League final performance with a growing hamstring issue, showing little sign of fatigue or strain, overwhelming Arsenal in Baku as Chelsea claimed another European crown.
A few months later, that display in the Super Cup against Liverpool, a great demonstration of his progressive side coming out to help Chelsea go toe-to-toe with the then Champions League holders.
All of these moments continue to showcase how fortunate Chelsea were to have Kante throughout this period. You also throw in the monumental personal accolade for his nation of contributing to a World Cup win for France in 2018, his impact so widely recognised by his international teammates and the public that he was serenaded in the victory lap around the Stade de France as a song about N'Golo was sung, lifted above the ground like a King by his peers.
But that was not the happy ending for a player with an already romantic journey from the lower tiers of French football to the global stardom of World Cup fame. After battling through multiple injury setbacks which followed that night in Baku, Kante's greatest Chelsea chapter was about to be written.
His run of performances in the knockout stages of the Champions League still defies description, to steal a famous Martin Tyler line. The supersonic nature of the way he overwhelmed Atletico Madrid in that second league at Stamford Bridge, the equally ridiculous showings against Real Madrid in the semi-final. At one moment in the first leg seeming to play a pass that he ended up on the end of – which probably summed up Kante more than any Kante moment before.
In the second leg, showing his creative spark with his forays cutting through the heart of Los Blancos to help forge the two goals that would seal a place in the showpiece final. Every one of these being rewarded with Man of the Match awards.
Then came that final. A first-half performance that even promoted Manchester City's own Twitter account to comment on Kante's ominous presence. It was the culmination of Kante's years at Chelsea, showing the full range of skills: intercepting, passing, speed, mobility, awareness, intelligence and influence over others. It was little coincidence Jorginho's greatest run in a Chelsea shirt came next to N'Golo Kante, or probably that Matic had one of his best seasons next to him either.
This is the extraordinary impact Kante has on the teams he plays for. A capability to raise the level of his team's performance. Chapters will be written about this player and his impact on modern European football. The challenge is that finding anyone that rivals him feels like a Herculean task, one that Mauricio Pochettino probably cannot complete, who could?
There has sadly been a cost though to this gift. People pinpoint that infamous night in Baku as the beginning of Kante's now long-standing injury issues that have plagued his ability to showcase his unique talent. A succession of Chelsea coaches have had to come to terms with this reality, grasping that Kante has become more of a star cameo than a leading man. This is why debates over the length of a new contract were logical given his inability to remain available.
It feels telling that his final year at Chelsea ended with less than 20 appearances, suffering a hamstring issue in August forcing him to miss nearly all of the 2022/23 campaign. Maybe the personal cost in 2019 for the good of his team in Baku has been paid since. But showing humility and sacrifice for the greater good of your team feels like the perfect descriptor for who N'Golo Kante is.
A humble, shy and at times very understated professional who rode up to Cobham in his Mini, worked really hard, then went home. There was no ego, no lavish accessories, need for manufactured branding of social media hype: Kante was purely the best on the pitch, his work proved it.
Kante deserves to be in the conversation for Chelsea's greatest. Even if he may lose out to Frank Lampard for the goals and longevity, his transformative impact since 2016 will never be forgotten.
