Chelsea release Belgium-born ‘Zambian’ midfielder who offered to play for free

Chelsea have released Belgian of Zambia origin Charly Musonda Junior after his pleas to play for the Premier League side for free fell on deaf ears.

The Blues have released a statement confirming the exit of the son to former Zambian international Charles Musonda who settled in Belgium where his children were born and adopted the country as their home.

“Attacking midfielder Charly Musonda is also at the end of his contract. The 25-year-old Belgian made seven men’s first team appearances, five as a substitute, and scored one goal,” Chelsea’s statement issued on Friday reads.

Last season, Musonda pleaded with Chelsea management to allow him to play for free for a season after struggling for game-time at the Stamford Bridge largely due to injuries.

Musonda revealed his offer in an interview with The Beautiful Game Podcast after having unsuccessful talks with Chelsea technical director Petr Cech and manager Thomas Tuchel last December.

“I spoke with the manager and I obviously knew what he thought of me in training. I explained to him the same thing, I will play here for free. It’s not to do with the contract, I will literally play for free this year.

“I can be the last guy in the squad. Train hard, basically build my way through training, pay with the 23s, get some fitness back and from there.

“It’s a long season, there’s a lot of games. I’m not even asking to start those games, I was just saying, if I can come on, get 15, 20 minutes here and there.

“He (Tuchel) understood. We had a good chat and he said, “Listen, it’s not up to me. The contract talks are something else,’ he said.

His decision to become Belgian citizen did not go down well with some Zambians who thought he stood a good chance of forging a career with the 2012 Africa champions than star-studded Belgium.