Chelsea outcast’s last-ditch attempt to extend spell sees him offer to play for free

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Chelsea outcast Charly Musonda offered to play for free in a desperate attempt to salvage his Blues career. The 25-year-old has been told by Thomas Tuchel that his contract will not be renewed at the end of the season.

The Belgian midfielder joined the Blues as a 15-year-old in the summer of 2012 and was handed his senior debut by Antonio Conte five years later in Chelsea’s Community Shield defeat to Arsenal.

Musonda then scored his first goal for the club in a League Cup outing the following month before loan spells at Celtic and Dutch side Vitesse saw his career take a turn for the worse.

It was while playing in the Netherlands that a career-threatening knee injury put the brakes on his early promise and left his Chelsea career in tatters.

After battling through hardship, the 25-year-old then received another setback as a Chelsea snub for this summer’s friendly with Weymouth led to crunch talks with manager Thomas Tuchel and technical director Petr Cech.

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After being informed that his contract, which expires next summer, would be allowed to run down, Musonda went to great lengths to fight for his Blues future, even offering to play for free.

“My initial talk was… simply saying listen, I appreciate the contract, I see where the club is coming from, my initial thinking would be to stay here and be with the team,” Musonda told The Beautiful Game Podcast regarding Chelsea’s proposal of a wage cut and potential loan.

“I don’t really care as long as I can show what I can do here, because I came to Chelsea to try and play here.

“I spoke to the manager and… said I would play here for free and it’s not the question of the contract, so I was disappointed I didn’t play against Weymouth.”

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He added: “[I explained] I will literally play for free this year and if I’m doing well then next year we can talk about [an extension].

“It’s not about the money… it’s either I’m good enough to play for Chelsea or I’m not good enough to play for Chelsea.”

The midfielder, who was signed alongside his two brothers in the same summer in which compatriot Eden Hazard arrived from Lille, is currently training with Chelsea’s under-23 side having been omitted from Tuchel’s Premier League and Champions League squad selections.

A Premier League 2 match against Liverpool in September saw him make a rare outing as it looks as though his career revival will continue away from Stamford Bridge.

“Obviously having been out for the last two or three years it was a bit difficult with my injury,” Musonda admitted when discussing his hopes of salvaging his Chelsea career.

“I did everything I could, I worked as hard as I could… to just be fit, to be able to be a part of the first team in pre-season, which was something I did and I was very happy about it.

“I was very optimistic that I was going to be able to train with the first team and be back in the team and then build up my fitness.

“My ambition was always to play for Chelsea, and I always said I was either going to leave because I wasn’t good enough or if I was told I have to go.”

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