Kante: a quiet and unassuming superstar
Chelsea's French international N'Golo Kante cemented his place as the finest central midfielder in the modern game with a man-of-the-match display as he guided his side to a 1-0 Champions League triumph over Manchester City on Saturday.
He may shy away from the limelight, but there were few more popular members of France's 2018 World Cup-winning side than Kante, who got his hands on one of the few trophies on Saturday that had so far evaded him.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. France supporters came up with a song for Kante during that triumphant summer in Russia, to the tune of the 1969 hit "Les Champs-Elysees" by Joe Dassin. As the song goes, "he is small, he is kind, he stopped Leo Messi".
It does take a ruthless streak to get to the very top in football as Kante has, winning two Premier League titles, the Champions League, the Europa League and the FA Cup as well as the World Cup.
Despite that, everyone who has encountered Kante since the start of his career in the Paris suburbs seems to agree there is no other player quite like the 30-year-old. "Every time he comes back to Paris he comes to see us," Karim El-Moudkhil, Kante's former coach, told AFP.
The 30-year-old was playing in the French second division for Caen just six years ago but since then he has been on a remarkable streak of trophy collecting.
His run could continue with France among the favourites for the European Championship which starts next month.
Against City in the final, he showed all the reasons why he has been so essential to those successes. Often praised for his ball-winning skills, Kante's passing and running with the ball allows Chelsea to quickly transition from defence to attack.
Kante, whose parents are of Malian origin, grew up in a large family on a quiet estate in Rueil-Malmaison to the west of the French capital, has also won numerous individual awards but has yet to be in serious contention for the biggest ones, such as the Ballon d'Or, but he surely must be in with a chance this year.
It is a view shared by his old coach back in Rueil. "He has come on so much. Over the last few years he has taken more and more risks, he gets forward more, and he is now one of the best players in the world."