What happened to former Chelsea wonderkid Musonda?
Musonda, who retired aged 28 last summer, decided to quit football after a spell in Cyprus marred by unpaid wages - but despite this being a far cry from the start of his career, there is renewed excitement on the horizon. In the beginning, Musonda joined then Champions League-holders Chelsea ahead of Manchester United , Arsenal , Real Madrid and Barcelona after rising through the ranks at Belgian giants Anderlecht. At this time, he was one of the most highly-rated young attackers in world football, playing for Antonio Conte's Blues, making a dazzling impact on loan at Real Betis and having a mixed spell at Celtic before his next move to Dutch club Vitesse...
But then injury derailed his upward trajectory. "One studs‑up tackle cost me four years of my career. Doctors told me I had a 20% chance of ever playing again," he said of the posterior cruciate ligament injury that changed everything in 2018.
After nearly four years out, Musonda was fit enough to return for Chelsea but found the club lost faith in him. Subsequent moves to Levante in Spain and Anorthosis in Cyprus could not revive his ambitions. After his career instability, Musonda, based in Los Angeles, is now working on developing a one‑versus‑one, combat sport‑style football league game.
In his childhood, Musonda, son of a Zambia international also called Charles, was well known by youth teams and scouts across Europe. "Funnily enough, I had a chat with Vincent Kompany when I left Chelsea and he was at Anderlecht. I remember he said, 'I've known you since you were five years old'," Musonda said.
"I was playing the biggest clubs from all over Europe from 10. After matches, clubs like Real Madrid were talking to my parents. It was an exciting time.