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Fullname: Charles Musonda
aka: Charly Musonda, Charly Musonda Jr
Born: 15 Oct 1996
Birthplace: Brussels, Belgium
Signed: 29 Jan 2018 (18mth loan from Chelsea)
Left: 17 May 2018 (loan deal terminated early)
Position: Midfielder
Debut: Celtic 3-1 Hearts, SP, 30 Jan 2018
Squad No.: 67
Internationals: none
Biog
| “He wants to be the biggest, the prettiest, the best. Charly must first and foremost find peace and confidence in his head.” Belgium U21 coach Johan Walem (Oct 2018) |
Charly Musonda was the new young next big thing at Chelsea with a string of suitors after his name and many wetting their appetite at his parent club for his future potential.
However, at a Chelsea struggling in their domestic league and having a squad bigger than a squadron, at his age he was to become one of a number of loanees out to help give him game-time (and generate money for his parent club). Simply on the back of Rodgers’ name, he came to Celtic with the supporters believing the club had a coup on the club’s hands here (albeit for 18 months).
Tall and athletic, he had a great build and demonstrated his skills, very much loving to wow the crowds with some sublime flicks. You could see he was a precocious talent, but did he have the work ethic to make it all the way?
Primed for the big time, with Celtic working towards a second treble and into the Europa League (having arrived in the January 2018 window), it was a perfect stage for Musonda to show everyone what he could achieve as for example Dembele, Edouard and Paddy Roberts had done.
He got off to a fabulous start, setting up a goal in the heady home victory over Zenit St Petersburg (Russia). It was a sublime bit of skill as he came off the bench to set up that goal, and it was now a common opinion that he would kick on from there and be a star for the club.
Yet actually it all just ground to a halt.
He hardly played again, with only eight appearances in total and only three from the start. His name kept popping up in conversations as to where he was and why wasn’t he playing, especially in those matches Celtic were seeming to be struggling in. Despite injuries, to some he was being sidelined. The question was why? He was to miss out on even a sub’s place on the bench in notable games, although Celtic didn’t seem to miss him, even defeating Sevco in aggregate 12-2 over three games in the league and Cup.
Chelsea mandarins were reported in the papers to be furious as their charge was absent and not gaining the experience they felt he required, but that’s not their business. He came to Celtic to learn and you learn by earning your place, and that was Rodgers’ prerogative if Musonda deserved a place or not on the back of training, attitude and the competition round him.
As Celtic began to turn a corner in performances with most notably Ntcham and Edouard gaining plaudits, Musonda was surplus to requirements. He became one more for the Twitter crowd to comment on than the avid supporter at the games.
If anything he had to now work harder to prove himself, but did he want to? It was going to leave a black mark against his name in his records. Bottom line was that Musonda had to earn his place, his incomplete CV was not sufficient.
Reports began that Chelsea were going to cut his spell short and return him to London if gametime wasn’t being given, but by this time it was too late. Actually, it was initially confirmed that he was not returning by (of all people) his mother via Twitter.
It was reported that he had returned to Chelsea initially due to a collarbone injury so needed treatment, but there were plenty around who were sceptical of this.
Nobody knows how any signing will turn out. They’re always a gamble whether they are free transfers or cost £20 million, whether they’re the next big thing or someone coming to the end of their career.
No matter how long Rodgers had chased to get Musonda there’s no way anyone could know how he’d work out until he got to Celtic Park. As it didn’t work out then there were evidently factors at play that aren’t in the public domain. Rodgers was all about the team over the individual, as he said enough with his one brain philosophy. Maybe Musonda was too much of a maverick or maybe there were another 20 valid reasons why he hadn’t featured, but if the right thing to do was to cut him loose then Rodgers as the manager had the right to make that decision without needing to be questioned.
It was a bizarre & curious departure from Celtic, seeing Musonda confirm that he was not to return via Twitter from his mother’s account followed by a ghost written note from himself on Instagram. A very immature & unprofessional method many thought to air his exit to the general support and his employers. It wasn’t the first time in his career that his entourage had used social media in an underhand manner.
He’ll go down as probably the highest profile failing of a loan signing the club will ever have. ‘One bright moment‘ as from the Zenit game is (in fairness) greater than many other loan signings Celtic have had, but rarely were any as lauded on their arrival as Musonda. Robbie Keane was highly lauded but at least performed on the pitch, Musonda was relying on the stature of his parent club rather than his own performances but his credibility was now seriously dented. He & his entourage had a lot of maturing to do.
Even Johan Walem, the Belgium U21 coach, came out with some stick on him:
“A player like Charly should always be in this team [Celtic]. But he has not played. So that leads me to believe there is a problem with him. The boy has everything. Really everything! An incredible talent. He is fast, and technically great, he sees the game and is a male in the duels. In short, he has all the qualities to play at the highest level. Maybe they [Chelsea, his entourage] told him too often that he was too beautiful, too strong, too good.”
Regardless, we wished him the best. He had some talent and he had the ability to make a name for himself, but without the right application it could easily slip away.
Post-Celtic
After Celtic, he was back out on loan but then out for a long time due to injuries which required knee surgery. One key revelation was that he was given odds by doctors of just 20% that he could resume a professional football career, and at least conceded he wasn’t in form whilst at Celtic:
“After not being in top shape for almost four years, I am continuing my path to recovery and redemption. I hope to be back training in about four months. My view is to never give up on your dreams, no matter how difficult they can be and to stay motivated.”
Adding in the time lost at Celtic and afterwards (and even before), he had lost a lot of pivotal development time at a key age. Despite all the potential, his career was running away from him. The Belgian national side was doing fine whilst Chelsea won another European Cup in his absence.
He was cut from Chelsea in 2022, having made no headway at the club. If he was to reboot his career, then in his own inimitable way he was to restart it in as characteristically unprofessional a way as critics had come to expect from him when he was soon reported missing by Belgian side Zulte Waregem, with whom he had reportedly agreed a contract. Having dumped them, he claimed he was pushing for a move to Spain.
He eventually signed a two-year deal with the Spanish Segunda División club Levante, but that again turned into another short stint, with his contract cut after one season. He then moved on to Anorthosis (Cyprus), a far distance from the top table at what should have been the prime era for his career. He was far from the top table, and his career was another story of a failed footballing prodigy. His slide into footballing ignominy was little noticed by anyone or even reported much, which further demonstrated how far his career had fallen.
His time at Anorthosis unsurprisingly also failed, and it was clear that his time as a senior footballer was now over after being let go after just one season at the end of the 2023/24 season.
[….]
Quotes
“If I don’t think this will be for him then Chelsea and I will speak about that, along with Charly. It’s just been unfortunate the team has been playing very well so we’ll speak with him at the end of the season and take it from there.”
Brendan Rodgers (May 2018)
“I’d like to thank all of the Celtic family, spending the second half of the season in such a prestigious club with its incredible fans was an experience to cherish, to receive number 67 and have your incredible support, everywhere in Glasgow was amazing.“I will never forget the noise of a European night at the Park, and to be a part of it and witness it first hand was an experience that’s made me more hungry for that stage, and that’s thanks to you, and the players that just won the league seven times in a row and hopefully a double Treble,“I will be a supporter of Celtic forever, I’d like to thank Brendan Rodgers for giving me that opportunity and guidance every single day, as I continue on my quest.”
Charly Musonda’s instagram announced goodbye note (ghost written obviously) (May 2018)
“He went to Celtic and look what happened.
“It’s Celtic – I saw them in the Champions League. A player like Charly should always be in this team.
“But he has not played. So that leads me to believe there is a problem with him.
“The boy has everything. Really everything! An incredible talent. He is fast, and technically great, he sees the game and is a male in the duels. In short, he has all the qualities to play at the highest level. Maybe they told him too often that he was too beautiful, too strong, too good.”
Belgium Under 21 coach Johan Walem (May 2018)
“He wants to be the biggest, the prettiest, the best. although he may be more of an ‘8’ than a ’10’ – as a playmaker he wants to do too much, then he demands everything. Charly must first and foremost find peace and confidence in his head.”
Belgium U21 coach Johan Walem (Oct 2018)
“England can clearly be discouraged for young people who have not yet been debuted with a first team. The best example for me is the comparison between Youri Tielemans and Charly Musonda. The latter had more talent for me than the first one, but it is Tielemans who has already played a World Cup and was brought in by Leicester City for a lot of money.”
Belgian Football Agent Stijn Francis (2019)
“You sacrifice, you work hard, harder, you give more than what’s expected, and often more than you can, because you love what you do and clearly more than you should. And what do you get back? Literally nothing… done. However, with this being said I will continue with same dedication and commitment to this great game.”
Charly Musonda in social media post, baffling people with his claim about commitment & hard work (2019)
“Of course I tell my young players — look at Musonda,his is what can happen if you move too soon. This was one of our best players on the youth side. He left at 15 and now he is struggling to find his place in professional football”.
Anderlecht head of academy Jean Kindermans revealed that he used Chelsea winger Charly Musonda as an example for young players who want to leave the club too soon. Kindermans told The Athletic (2019)
‘It’s starting to look like they wouldn’t know what they have if they had Ronaldo or Messi coming of the academy. smh (shaking my head).’
On Musonda’s instagram on Chelsea, before his time at Celtic (2017)
“Unfortunately there’s a lot of players who you see at younger ages, who just don’t go on to fulfill their potential. But to give an example, I think the one I would quote would be Charly Musonda, the Belgian boy who came to Chelsea at 15/16. Attacking midfield player, winger, fantastic touch, great movement. He was quick, he would send players both ways, he could take defenders both sides, he could score goals, he could make goals. As talented as anybody I’ve seen at that age. He played for Chelsea’s first-team, made his cup debut against Nottingham Forest I think in the FA Cup, scored I think as well in a game we won 5-1 from memory. Then he got a very bad injury. He went out on loan to a couple of places that just didn’t work and he was out for a long time with an injury. He’s still playing now, my guess will be he’d be about 26 now, Charly’s playing in Cyprus I think. But in terms of sheer ability, he was as good as anybody I’ve seen at that age.”
Ex-Chelsea scout Robinson (2024)
Playing Career
| APPEARANCES (subs) |
LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 2017-18 | 2 (2) | 1 (1) | 0 | 0 (2) | 3 (5) |
| Goals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 2 (2) | 1 (1) | 0 | 0 (2) | 3 (5) |
| Goals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Honours with Celtic
Scottish League
Scottish Cup
Pictures
KDS
- 2018 Thread: http://kerrydalestreet.co.uk/topic/11056406/35/?x=50
Articles
Charly Musonda: Chelsea man cuts short Celtic loan stay after eight appearances
BBC
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has confirmed midfielder Charly Musonda has returned to Chelsea. Musonda, 21, joined Celtic on an 18-month loan in January and featured in eight matches this season.However, the Belgian has cut short his stay in Glasgow to go back to London.
“He was a joy to work with, wanted to learn, but he’s at the age where he needs to be playing week-in, week-out and unfortunately I couldn’t promise him that,” said Rodgers.”I met with Chelsea on Monday. Charly’s contract was set in that there was a review at the end of the season, whether they wanted to take him back. The idea for Charly to come out [on loan] was to play as many games as he possibly could.
“Between us both we were thinking he may not get the games that they would like him to get for next season. My job when I bring in young players is to give them the environment, and hopefully give them as much game time as I possibly can. “If that doesn’t happen then of course we don’t own the player. “He’s a terrific young player. I think the level the team has been playing at has been difficult at times for Charly to get in. But there’s no doubt he’s a talent and I’m sure next year he’ll go on and hopefully get the games that he wants.”
Patrick Roberts says he will ‘cherish’ his time spent at Celtic. Rodgers, who has had Patrick Roberts at Celtic on loan from Manchester City, says he will not rule out heading south of the border in future to bring in loan players.
“It always has to be a possibility,” he added. “The finances will always dictate what we can bring in. My first look is always at our own, at the young Scottish players here or at another Kristoffer Ajer [the Norway and Celtic defender].” However, Patrick Roberts is a brilliant example of what a young player can do. Moussa Dembele has also come in as a young player [from Fulham].”