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Former Chelsea Starlet Who Had a Training-Ground Bust-Up With Cesc Fabregas Retires at 28

Sushan Chakraborty Written by Sports EditorSushan Chakraborty
Updated –
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Charly Musonda Retires

Former Chelsea youngster Charly Musonda has called time on his injury-stricken career at the age of 28. 

The Belgian was once seen as the natural successor of Chelsea legend Eden Hazard. Luck, unfortunately, was not on his side. Knee injuries and surgery kept him out of action for three years,

Having suffered multiple career-defining injuries, Musonda only managed to play seven matches for Chelsea’s senior team, scoring once. In fact, his most noteworthy moment at Chelsea was a training-ground row with then-Blues superstar Cesc Fabregas.

Former Chelsea Man Charly Musonda Retires at 28

Charly Musonda joined Chelsea U18 from Anderlecht Youth in July 2012. After a couple of years with the U18 side, he was promoted to the U21 team. In January 2016, he moved to Real Betis on a one-year loan.

At the start of the 2017/18 season, Musonda earned his first senior team contract. The Belgian, however, struggled for minutes at Stamford Bridge and spent time at Celtic and Vitesse. In August 2022, he left Chelsea permanently for Spanish second-division team Levante. There, he played his first professional match in over 1000 days.

In September 2023, Levante released him, which led to his transfer to Anorthosis, a club in the Cypriot league. He left Anorthosis as a free agent in September 2024 — roughly eight months after his last appearance for the club.

Announcing his retirement, Musonda told the Rising Ballers podcast:

“I’ve got a big announcement today.

“It’s not easy, but it’s something I’ve been thinking about for a long time. After reflecting on my experiences and who I am, I’ve realised I want to live with purpose to inspire and motivate others.”

Across clubs, Musonda played just 74 games, scoring 2 times.

Charly Musonda Fell Out With Cesc Fabregas at Chelsea

In December 2015, then-Chelsea youngster Charly Musonda was reportedly involved in a training-ground altercation with one of Arsenal’s top scorers in Champions League history, Cesc Fabregas.

During a training session, Musonda reportedly flicked the ball over the midfielder’s head before nutmegging him. His showboating angered Fabregas, who then went in with a heavy tackle on Musonda. This sparked a bust-up between the players, with the pair reportedly exchanging harsh words.

Then-manager Jose Mourinho, who remains open to managing Scottish clubs, dealt with the situation promptly, and Chelsea did not sanction Fabregas.

Musonda Discusses His Stamford Bridge Exit

Charly Musonda broke down while discussing his Chelsea departure in 2022.

He said the Stamford Bridge exit took a massive toll on his mental health.

“The exit killed me. It killed me mentally. It was the worst thing,” he said (via The Daily Mail).

“I was obviously with the reserves at that time, so the plan was to pick up with the reserves, get some training in, and if there were a few games where I could fit in toward the back end of the season, that was the plan. Because I literally had just gotten better. I came back in December-January and was training with the reserves.”

Musonda also opened up about his meeting with Thomas Tuchel and where things went wrong for him.

“In the car park, I ran into Thomas Tuchel, the manager,” he added.

“They were getting ready for the semi-final of the Champions League, and he just said, ‘How are you feeling? How are things going?. It was my first time meeting him. He said, ‘I’m looking forward to seeing you back and I said, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll be back for pre-season.'”

He concluded by adding:

“So I came back for pre-season, and that’s where things got tricky. That was the end of my time at Chelsea.”

Musonda has vowed to make the “world better for footballers”. We wish him all the best for the next chapter of his life.

Sushan Chakraborty Written by Sports EditorSushan Chakraborty
Sushan Chakraborty has been writing professionally since debuting with 90min in 2017. He has since typed out thousands of articles, learning the trade from some of the smartest minds in the business. Now at Sportscasting, he is striving to whip up his best articles yet.
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