Former Chelsea prodigy and son of Anderlecht stalwart retires at 28 | OneFootball

Charly Musonda (28) has put an end to his professional football career. Announcing this in a video with Rising Ballers, the former Chelsea man leaves the game prematurely following many injuries.

Son of Zambian international, Charles Musonda, Junior was considered a great talent for many years. He moved from the youth academy of RSC Anderlecht to Chelsea at just 15, with the Blues paying 2.5 million euros at the time.

However, his career never really got off the ground in West London, partly due to two serious injuries, including a tear of his posterior cruciate ligament. Amid a number of unsuccessful and further injury-laden loan spells with Real Betis and Vitesse, Musonda eventually only played seven official matches for the Chelsea first team.

In 2022, he left Stamford Bridge after a 10-year stay and signed with then-second-division Levante in Spain. A short stay followed, however, and in the twilight of his career, he played for Cypriot Anorthosis Famagusta before deciding to hang up his boots for good.

Looking back at his time on the sidelines with BBC Sport in 2021, Musonda analysed the injury that’d eventually (and unfortunately) be his undoing.

“The doctors said: ‘If you have a surgery now, you’re going to miss another year. It’s going to be three years of no football so it’s going to be impossible for you to come back.

“A PCL surgery is not common in football. It’s not like an ACL [anterior cruciate ligament] where you have surgery and in six months you can come back.

“They told me the odds of coming back were like 20%. Of coming back and being at the top level, being able to compete and play for a club like Chelsea, it was slim to none. It was very difficult.”

While he respectfully tried to get his career back on track, the winger leaves the game at 28. He has somewhat spookily suffered a similar fate to his father, who also retired before he was 30 after consistent knee injuries. Charles Musonda Sr. turned out 109 times for Anderlecht between 1987 and 1997 after an initial introduction to Belgian football with Cercle Brugge.

GBeNeFN | Max Bradfield