Cheikhou Kouyaté bows out: “O captain, my captain! »
A major page in Senegalese football is turning. Cheikhou Kouyaté, former captain of the Lions and African champion in 2022, announced his retirement this Friday. After more than a decade in the national team, the midfielder leaves the image of a reliable executive, present in major events.
“ Today, it is with great emotion that I announce the end of my career as a professional footballer. Football has been much more than a profession. It was my childhood dream, my passion and the path that allowed me to become the man I am today. I had the honor of wearing the colors of great clubs, sharing the dressing room with extraordinary players and defending my country for many years. But my greatest pride will remain to have worn the Senegal jersey and contributed to writing a historical page in our football: the conquest of our first continental star. On that day, we offered joy, hope and an eternal memory to an entire people… “. It is with these words, published on social networks, that Cheikhou Kouyaté announced that he had hung up his boots, at 36 years old.
The numbers alone sum up a career in selection: 92 selections and 4 goals, 5 African Nations Cups contested, two World Cups (2018 and 2022) and, above all, a continental coronation in 2022. All in a journey marked, as summarized in the tribute circulating this Friday, by “the commitment, the experience and the historic coronation of Senegal at CAN 2021”. He was also part of the epic 2012 Olympics where he revealed himself with a certain Sadio Mané…
A defensive midfielder, sometimes used in central defense, Kouyaté has always been a player on whom the coaches could count. He has spanned several generations of Lions, from the rise of the group to consecration.
The coronation of 2022, the high point of a generation
The title of African champion, won during the CAN 2021 contested in early 2022 in Cameroon, remains the pinnacle of his international career. For Senegal, it was the first continental coronation in its history. For Cheikhou Kouyaté, who has been in the group for years, it was the reward for long, sometimes frustrating campaigns.
He also wore the national jersey during the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, two experiences which established the Lions among the regular teams on the world stage.
Anderlecht, West Ham, Crystal Palace: a solid European course
At club level, Kouyaté has built a great career in Europe. Trained in Senegal, he started at RSC Anderlecht (2009-2014), where he won four Belgian championship titles and two Super Cups.
He then joined the Premier League, where he played nearly 300 matches: West Ham United (2014-2018), Crystal Palace (2018-2022), then Nottingham Forest (2022-2024). He ended with a move to the Turkish second division, at Amedspor.
Heart and courage
In an interview with Senegalese television Walf TV, Kouyaté revealed that he had lived with a heart problem since his birth. According to him, this condition was closely followed by the English clubs where he played, but it also complicated certain negotiations, with clubs hesitating to offer him contracts of a longer duration. A confidence which sheds new light on the longevity of a player who has played at the highest level for years.
In recent weeks, Kouyaté had remained close to the group, present in the entourage of the selection during the 2026 World Cup without a clearly defined official function. His retirement, never announced until now, now closes the chapter as a player. It remains to be seen what role he will choose to play next in football, having considered moving into youth management.
In a football where careers are often fleeting, Cheikhou Kouyaté will have lasted and won. A player of duty more than light, he will remain as one of the faces of the golden generation which offered Senegal its first CAN.
And now that he has bowed out, discreetly like the player he was, it is difficult not to think of these lines from Walt Whitman in “O Captain! My Captain! », where he paid tribute to Abraham Lincoln after his assassination on April 14, 1865: “O Captain! My Captain! Get up to listen to the bells/ Get up: for you the flag is raised, for you the trumpet sounds (…)”.
Some may remember the clumsy post-World Cup statements, but they will never forget the player of talent, duty and character. The whole people will undoubtedly sing: Thank you, O Captain! My Captain!
Oumar Boubacar NDONGO
