Paul Pogba or Ngolo Kante? Who is the better player?
The great midfield duo who lifted the world cup together are rivals when it comes to club football. One got fame relatively later than the other but now it would be fair to say that they both are similar to each other despite playing a very different roles. The two players are brothers in faith and share a great bond even though their lifestyles are too different.
These two players play very different roles for their team but we would still try to compare them based on these criteria.
Midfield battle is key today.
— MR SHABAN (@ShabanYunusah) February 18, 2019
Kante or Pogba? pic.twitter.com/WenkEeAil2
1: Personal Stats
We are used to seeing Pogba take long powerful shots whenever he gets the right chance, the position he plays in helps him to land in more shots for himself. Pogba has scored some beautiful goals in his career from both inside and outside the box.
Overall Career Statistics:
📂 Man Utd
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) June 16, 2019
└📁 2018-19
└📁 Premier League
└📁 Player stats
└📁 Most goals
└💿 Pogba
└📁 Most assists
└💿 Pogba
└⚠️ Are you sure you want to open all files of this type? pic.twitter.com/G8SD7dpjDw
It is clear that Pogba that in terms of numbers Pogba is ahead of Kante in terms of G/A for his club. However, Kante plays as a defending midfielder for Chelsea and only strikes when he gets to get inside the box. The role he plays is very crucial for defending rather than attacking and it would be better for the team if he keeps his focus on defending as he is master of his position.
It would be too unfair to compare them in this category but as things stand Paul Pogba is ahead of Ngolo Kante.
Since joining Chelsea, N'Golo Kanté has averaged a successful tackle, interception or ball recovery once every 5.8 minutes in league and European competition.
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) May 29, 2021
◉ 1,350 ball recoveries
◉ 493 tackles made
◉ 360 interceptions
That's why everyone wants to be on his team. pic.twitter.com/pRSYfqUkxl
2: Titles
Manchester United are facing one of the worse trophy droughts in their history. It looks like the glorious period is coming to an end with receptive bad performances by the team even after having a team filled with world-class talents. Pogba failed to win much with the Red Devils. However, the player lifted 11 trophies in his professional career with Man United and Juventus. The story would have been different if he did not leave Juventus or the red devils played how they used to under Sir Alex.
Ngolo Kante has the best trophy cabinet and he has gained all that in a much shorter span. It might take other players their whole career for what he has achieved but he achieved even after coming late into the limelight. Kante has conquered England, Europa and the World in his career. He won 2 Premier League titles, 1 UEFA Champions League, 1 Europa League, 1 FA Cup and a UEFA Supercup.
Our Chelsea man Ngolo Kante is the clear winner here.
N’Golo Kante MOTM in a #UCLFinal.
— Jake Heasman (@jakeheasman) May 29, 2021
Absolutely bossed Modric, Kroos, Casemiro and De Bruyne…
If you think there’s a better midfielder in the world, well, you’re wrong. pic.twitter.com/8GM3APqPGy
3: International Career
The French National Team is unarguably the strongest team in this world. They have the quality and quantity to win any international title if their players play in sync. Despite Kante coming late into the scene for France, he has the same number of trophies as Pogba.
When it comes to country these two are the two common starters for France as they understand how to shape any game to their benefit and together they are undefeatable.
Paul Pogba won the World Cup and the UEFA Nations League. He scored in the final of the World Cup and was praised by millions of people for completing this feat. Kante has been an important part of the French team where he achieved great success for his country and himself.
There is no winner in this category as they both work really hard to bag in titles for their country and it would be immoral to compare them when they both stand under the same banner.
Paul Pogba, Manchester United 🇾🇪 & France 🇫🇷- World Cup winner 🏆
— Ste Howson (@MrStephenHowson) July 15, 2018
Good night. pic.twitter.com/iMuwAqobrp
4: Individual Titles
Every player is rewarded for his performance and these two have plenty of awards in their name. The list is long and it is difficult to compare as each award hold different importance and experience for them.
Individual Honours of N’Golo Kante:
- PFA Team of the Year: 2015–16 Premier League, 2016–17 Premier League
- ESM Team of the Year: 2015–16, 2016–17
- Leicester City Players’ Player of the Year: 2015–16
- L’Équipe Team of the Year: 2016, 2017, 2018PFA Players’ Player of the Year: 2016–17
- Premier League Player of the Season: 2016–17
- FWA Footballer of the Year: 2016–17
- Chelsea Players’ Player of the Year: 2016–17
- Chelsea Player of the Year: 2017–18
- Trophées UNFP for Best French Player Abroad: 2017, 2018
- French Player of the Year: 2017
- FIFA FIFPro World11: 2018
- UEFA Europa League Squad of the Season: 2018–19
- UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season: 2020–21
- UEFA Champions League Midfielder of the Season: 2020–21
Individual Honours Of Paul Pogba:
- UEFA European Under-17 Championship Team of the Tournament: 2010
- UEFA European Under-19 Championship Team of the Tournament: 2012
- FIFA U-20 World Cup Golden Ball: 2013
- Golden Boy: 2013
- Serie A Team of the Year: 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16
- FIFA World Cup Best Young Player: 2014
- Bravo Award: 2014
- UEFA Team of the Year: 2015
- FIFA FIFPro World11: 2015
- UEFA Europa League Squad of the Season: 2016–17, 2020–21
- UEFA Europa League Player of the Season: 2016–17
- PFA Team of the Year: 2018–19 Premier League
We have Kante as our winner in this category.
🎈 Happy birthday to N’Golo Kante, who turns 28 today!
— N’Golo Stuff (@NGoloStuff) March 29, 2019
2X Premier League Winner
World Cup Winner
PFA POTY
Chelsea POTY
Chelsea Players POTY
Leicester Players POTY
FWA Footballer of the Year
FA Cup Winner
2X PFA PL TOTY
French POTY
FIFPro World XI
Legendary. What a man. #CFC pic.twitter.com/AFPAWPIkD9
5: Club
Paul Pogba:
Pogba joined the youth academy of Le Havre from the Ligue 1. As a young player, he had all the qualities an ideal midfielder should possess. The youth academy of Manchester United got interested in him and signed him in 2009. After being called up for the senior team in 2011 he refused to sign the contract extension.
Juventus welcomed him with open arms as he came on a free and eventually helped them in winning multiple Serie A titles. The same year he won the ‘Golden Boy’ award. In no time he became a key player of Juventus while playing with the best squad.
Manchester United saw the potential of this young midfielder who was doing wonders in Turin. The club signed him back for a record fee of €105 million.
On this day in 2016, @paulpogba returned to Manchester United 🔴 pic.twitter.com/rXNRhnWt6g
— B/R Football (@brfootball) August 9, 2018
N’Golo Kante:
They had to work hard to make their way into the clubs they are playing in right now. The career led by these two is inspirational for many other young players who aspire to be professional footballers in future.
Leicester saw potential in him and signed him in 2015 along with some other players the world did not know of back then. N’Golo Kanté at Leicester City was MAGICAL and he won the Premier League in the very first season. The player was also featured in the Premier League Team Of The Season ahead of many big names.
Kante caught the eye of Chelsea and they signed him in 2016. Kante in Chelsea was much better and he won the Premier League again in the very first season two times in a row. He also got the Player Of The Season title for his contribution to the team.
As a child, N'Golo Kante's team won this trophy being held to the right. KANTE's BEST YOUNG PLAYER AWARD is being raised by other kids while he looks on.
— World Publicist (@IsimaOdeh) July 18, 2018
When France won the World Cup, he was too shy to ask to take a photo with the cup. Nzonzi told his mates to give it to him. pic.twitter.com/UidcdZSurj
Is Paul Pogba better than Ngolo Kante?
The position in which these two players play is too dissimilar to even compare properly. The major contributions for players like Kante are to make maximum interceptions and clear the ball while for players like Paul Pogba getting more assists is a big deal. Both of them are lethal in their roles and understand the dynamics of the game.
In some categories Kante is ahead of Pogba as his journey in the Premier is no less than a fairy tale and he has worked hard to reach where he is. If we have to get a winner among these two then Kante deserves it more as he has contributed not just at the world level but at the club level too. The contributions of Kante is clearly seen on the pitch and people understand how crucial he is for Chelsea. Pogba is still younger than Kante and can get a move to a big club like Real Madrid, Bayern Munich or maybe move back to Juventus and get ahead of Kante.
The winner of this comparison is Ngolo Kante.
Reference:
Transfermarkt
Wikipedia
Pogba is backing Kante for the Ballon d'Or 🏆 pic.twitter.com/x0oc3GxQIK
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) June 7, 2021
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