Charly Musonda has been under contract with Chelsea for ten years, and the Belgian seems to have struck gold while looking for a new club - but then he disappears. They are at a loss when it comes to his designated new club.
Belgium is worried about a former U21 international: Charly Musonda was about to be hired by Belgian first division club Zulte Waregem after a successful audition in June, but Musonda left before signing the contract, citing "family reasons" - and hasn't been since found, as the association announced. "We don't know when he'll be back for training. Will he ever come back? We have no idea," club boss Eddy Cordier told English media. After the first training sessions and a convincing test match, there was no longer any contact: "Since then he simply hasn't shown up and we haven't heard from him either," Cordier is quoted as saying.
Musonda had to look for a new club in the summer after his contract with Chelsea expired. The 25-year-old played for the club of German coach Thomas Tuchel for ten years, but was never able to assert himself at Stamford Bridge. The Belgian with Zambian roots was considered a great promise for a great future: When Musonda signed in London at the age of 15, it was a coup for the club, which prevailed against FC Barcelona, Manchester City and Real Madrid in the struggle for the footballer . Ultimately, however, the attacking player only made three appearances for the 2021 Champions League winners in the Premier League, his debut in 2017 being followed by several loans: Musonda played for Vitesse Arnhem, Celtic Glasgow and Betis Sevilla.
Musonda was seriously injured in Arnhem, after tearing his posterior cruciate ligament he was out for a long time in 2020 and even worried about the continuation of his career. "I now feel like a boxer preparing for a boxing match. It would be an incredible comeback - an incredible story. Every day is a part of the journey, every day a step closer to returning. I'm on the right track." , the player told the BBC 2021 after fighting his way back. "I think if I have a run and come back I can play for a good 10 years. I'm still 24 - if I come back in the prime of my career I can have a run - that's my goal."
In the long text the BBC wrote about the former super talent 2021, when the player still saw his future at Chelsea, Musonda also shared his own remarkable, fateful family history: "My father had a qualifier for Zambia for the 1994 World Cup says Charly Jr. "He had problems with his knee but wanted to play. When they were traveling to the game, the plane crashed and everyone died. The team, the staff, everyone. My father was lucky because the owner of Anderlecht told him not to go. My father was angry. Two days later the plane crashed. If he had been on the plane I wouldn't be here now."
His own career, Musonda said, should end differently than that of his father, who was ultimately never able to get over his serious knee injury. "He's one of the reasons I'm trying to come back," says Charly Jr. "I don't want my story to end with a knee injury. I want to show that my story was the same, but that I came back. Every day, I thought about that when I went to rehab. I thought about my dad and all the people who didn't make it. He's my inspiration. Every day I do it for him." In his last season for Chelsea, however, he only made two appearances in the second team.
Whether he will ever play for Zulte Waregem is unclear. "I don't know if we should continue to rely on him because he hasn't been there since training a few weeks ago and there has been no contact," club boss Cordier explains the situation.
