N'Golo Kanté's switch from Al Ittihad to Fenerbahce has collapsed, with the Turkish club blaming their Saudi Arabian counterparts.
Kanté was set to swap Al Ittihad for Fenerbahce -- with the Turkish club's Youssef En-Nesyri moving in the opposite direction -- but both transfers have fallen through.
Fenerbahce blamed administrative errors made by Al Ittihad in a statement on Tuesday, the morning after the expiration of the transfer window for clubs in Saudi Arabia. The transfer window for clubs in Türkiye stays open until Friday Feb. 6.
"Due to incorrect entry of the relevant TMS (Transfer Matching System) information by the opposing club, the procedures could not be completed within the transfer registration period, for reasons independent of our club," Fenerbahce said, adding it paid "meticulous attention to every detail."
The use of the FIFA TMS is compulsory for all international transfers.
"An extension was requested, the necessary discussions were held by our club with FIFA, and all steps were taken to resolve the process," Fenerbahce added. "Despite this, during the ongoing process, the opposing club failed to complete the procedures without providing any justification to us."
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The 34-year-old Kanté, who joined Al Ittihad in 2023, recently returned to the France team and made his 65th appearance for Les Bleus in November in a 4-0 win against Ukraine.
Fenerbahce are chasing their first Turkish league title in 12 years. In the transfer window they recruited another France international, midfielder Mattéo Guendouzi, who hopes to reclaim a place in the national squad ahead of the World Cup.
While Kanté will remain at Al Ittihad, Karim Benzema has exited the club to join Saudi Pro League rivals Al Hilal.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.