Gaël Kakuta retires at 35 after 17-year career | OneFootball

Gaël Kakuta has announced his retirement at 35, confirming the decision on Instagram on Saturday, 17 years after his professional debut at Chelsea. The player said in a post that he was ending his career with humility and that there comes a time to accept every season has a finish.

The DR Congo international, capped 31 times with five goals, steps away after DR Congo were eliminated in the World Cup last 32 by England, 2-1.

Looking back, he reflected that his greatest victory was meeting Jesus Christ, which taught him that his identity did not depend on performances, his value was not limited to a football pitch, and hope does not stop at the final whistle.

Kakuta featured in Ligue 1 for Lens, Dijon and Amiens. He made his professional bow for Chelsea in 2009, left England in 2012, and later played in the Netherlands, Italy and Spain.

He had three spells with Amiens, left France and Picardy in 2024 for Esteghlal in Iran, and since February has been with AEL Larissa in Greece. Kakuta won the Premier League with Chelsea in 2010 and the European Under-19 Championship with France that year, then made his DR Congo debut in 2017.

Source: L'Équipe