Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Charles Musonda [1] | ||
Date of birth | [2] | 15 October 1996||
Place of birth | Brussels, Belgium [2] | ||
Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) [3] | ||
Position(s) | Attacking midfielder, winger | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Anorthosis | ||
Number | 77 | ||
Youth career | |||
2002–2012 | Anderlecht | ||
2012–2016 | Chelsea | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2016–2022 | Chelsea | 3 | (0) |
2016–2017 | → Betis (loan) | 24 | (1) |
2017–2018 | → Celtic (loan) | 4 | (0) |
2018–2020 | → Vitesse (loan) | 4 | (0) |
2022–2023 | Levante | 17 | (0) |
2023– | Anorthosis | 10 | (0) |
International career‡ | |||
2010–2011 | Belgium U15 | 9 | (0) |
2011–2012 | Belgium U16 | 9 | (5) |
2012–2013 | Belgium U17 | 14 | (2) |
2013–2014 | Belgium U19 | 7 | (3) |
2014–2016 | Belgium U21 | 12 | (1) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20 June 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12:16, 11 November 2016 (UTC) |
Charles "Charly" Musonda (born 15 October 1996) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays for Cypriot First Division club Anorthosis Famagusta. Mainly an attacking midfielder, he can also play as a winger.
Born in Brussels to Zambian parents, Musonda started his career at Anderlecht's youth setup. In 2011, aged only 15, he was already linked to the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea. [4]
On 11 June 2012, Musonda joined Chelsea, along with his two older brothers, [5] after the club previously agreed to pay a "compensation fee" to Anderlecht. [6] On 24 October 2013, he signed a professional contract with the club, after already being a regular with the under-18s. [7]
On 5 March 2015, after already being a regular with the club's under-21 team, Musonda signed a contract extension until 2019. [8] He attracted interest from French clubs Monaco [9] and Olympique de Marseille [10] in the summer, after impressing in both UEFA Youth League and FA Youth Cup winning campaigns, but nothing came of it.
After not making any first team appearance during the first half of the 2015–16 season, Musonda asked to leave due to lack of opportunities in December. [11] In January 2016, he rejected a loan move from Standard Liège. [12]
On 29 January 2016, Musonda joined La Liga side Real Betis on loan until the end of the season, without the option of making the move permanent. [13] He made his professional debut on 7 February, starting in a 1–0 home win against Valencia, where he also was awarded Man of the Match. [14] Six days later, Musonda scored his first professional goal in a 2–2 draw at Deportivo de La Coruña. [15] On 22 June, Musonda's loan at Real Betis was extended for the 2016–17 campaign. [16] On 1 January 2017, after only making one start in the eight appearances Musonda made under manager Gus Poyet, the Belgian returned to Chelsea. [17]
On 1 January 2017, it was confirmed by Real Betis that Chelsea had recalled the Belgian. [17] With manager Antonio Conte unsure whether Musonda was to stay with the Blues or be loaned out, interest arose from many clubs around Europe, including Roma. [18] However, after the conclusion of the January transfer window, Antonio Conte confirmed in a post-match press conference preceding Chelsea's 1–1 away draw with Liverpool, that Nathan Aké, Kenedy and Musonda would be staying at the club for the rest of the 2016–17 campaign. [19] Musonda made his debut for Chelsea on 6 August 2017 in the 2017 FA Community Shield against Arsenal, coming on as a substitute after 84 minutes. [20] He made his first starting appearance for the club in an EFL Cup tie against Nottingham Forest, scoring the third goal in a 5–1 victory on 20 September 2017. [21]
On 29 January 2018, Musonda joined Celtic on an 18-month loan deal. [22] He made his debut the following day in a 3–1 victory over Heart of Midlothian at Celtic Park. [23] In February, he provided the assist for Callum McGregor's goal in a 1–0 win over Zenit St Petersburg in the first leg of the round of 32 stage of the Europa League. [24] The loan agreement was terminated in May 2018, as Musonda had not received sufficient playing time at Celtic. [25] Manager Brendan Rodgers claimed that the club had beat competition from Real Madrid to sign Musonda.
Musonda then departed Chelsea once again, joining Eredivisie side Vitesse on a season-long loan from 31 August 2018 (transfer deadline day), having missed out on Chelsea's 23-man squad ahead of the Premier League season. [26] Musonda then agreed to remain there on loan for a second season during the following July. [27] One week into his initial loan period, Musonda suffered a posterior cruciate ligament injury, which restricted him to just four league appearances over the next two seasons. [28]
Shortly after he went through surgery in August 2019, a pool of doctors who examined Musonda's injury rated his chances of playing again at just 20%. [28] [29] However, the Belgian still decided to go through recovery and work on regaining his fitness and condition, eventually returning to team training between December 2020 and January 2021. [29]
Musonda was subsequently aggregated to the Blues' Under-23 squad: on 24 September 2021, he started and played for 61 minutes in the Premier League 2 match against Liverpool, which ended in 4-3 win for his side. The occasion marked his first official match in over two years. [30] He also featured in the following league match against Blackburn, where he played the whole game and his side lost 1-0.
In November 2021, while still training in London, Musonda announced that he wouldn't renew his contract with Chelsea, which was set to expire in June 2022. [31] On 10 June 2022, Chelsea announced he was leaving the club. [32]
On 16 August 2022, Musonda signed a two-year deal with Segunda División club Levante. [33] On 25 September 2022, Musonda played his first professional game in over 1000 days against Burgos after a period of long injury.
On 1 September 2023, Musonda terminated his contract with the club. [34]
On 30 September 2023, Musonda signed a three-year contract with Cypriot First Division club Anorthosis Famagusta. [35]
Musonda is a Belgian international from under-15 to under-21 levels. [36]
Charly attended Richard Challoner School in New Malden. Musonda's older brothers, Lamisha and Tika were also youth graduates at Chelsea and Anderlecht. His father, also named Charles, was also a footballer who appeared mainly for Anderlecht, and was an international regular for Zambia. [37]
Club | Season | League | National cup [a] | League cup [b] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Chelsea | 2015–16 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
2016–17 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
2017–18 | Premier League | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 [c] | 0 | 7 | 1 | |
2018–19 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
2019–20 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
2020–21 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
2021–22 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
Total | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 | ||
Real Betis (loan) | 2015–16 | La Liga | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 16 | 1 | |||
2016–17 | La Liga | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 8 | 0 | ||||
Total | 24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 24 | 1 | |||||
Celtic (loan) | 2017–18 | Scottish Premiership | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 2 [d] | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | ||
Vitesse (loan) | 2018–19 | Eredivisie | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
2019–20 | Eredivisie | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||||
Total | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||||
Levante | 2022–23 | Segunda División | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 1 [e] | 0 | 20 | 0 | ||
Anorthosis | 2023–24 | Cypriot First Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
Career total | 52 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 63 | 2 |
Chelsea Reserves [39]
Rubén Iván Martínez Andrade, known simply as Rubén, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper.
Francisco Javier Muñoz Llompart, known as Xisco, is a Spanish football manager and former player who played mainly as a left winger. He is the manager of Slovak First Football League club DAC Dunajská Streda.
Victoriano Rivas Álvaro, known as Nano, is a Spanish retired professional footballer who played mainly as a central defender, currently manager of CU Collado Villalba.
Vicente Iborra de la Fuente is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Segunda División club Levante.
Héctor Rodas Ramírez is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central defender.
José Antonio García Rabasco, known as Verza, is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder.
Juan Miguel Jiménez López, known as Juanmi, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for as a forward for La Liga club Real Betis.
Willian José da Silva, known as Willian José, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Russian club Spartak Moscow.
Hernâni Jorge Santos Fortes, known simply as Hernâni, is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a winger for Croatian Football League club Osijek.
Samuel "Samu" García Sánchez is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a right winger or a forward.
Rúben Miguel Nunes Vezo is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a central defender or a right-back for Süper Lig club Eyüpspor, on loan from Olympiacos.
Álvaro Medrán Just is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Saudi Pro League club Al-Ettifaq as a midfielder.
Lamisha Musonda is a Belgian former footballer.
Alexander "Álex" Alegría Moreno is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Badajoz.
Bekanty Victorien Angban is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Russian club Dynamo Makhachkala on loan from Sochi.
The 2016–17 season was Chelsea's 103rd competitive season, 28th consecutive season in the top flight of English football, 25th consecutive season in the Premier League and 112th year in existence as a football club. In addition to the domestic league, Chelsea participated in the FA Cup and League Cup; however, they did not participate in any UEFA competition for the first time since the 1996–97 season. The season covered the period from 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017.
During the 2018–19 season, Real Betis participated in La Liga, Copa del Rey and UEFA Europa League.