Former West Ham midfielder Cheikhou Kouyaté has retired from professional football at 36 after doctors advised him to stop playing because of a congenital heart condition. The Senegalese international revealed that the problem had followed him throughout his career and was monitored every six months during his time in England.
Speaking during an appearance on Walf TV, with his comments reported by Seneweb, Kouyaté explained that West Ham, Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest were all aware of the condition. He accepted personal responsibility for continuing to play and signed insurance documents acknowledging the risks involved.
The decisive moment came when Anderlecht offered Kouyaté the opportunity to return as a player while beginning his coaching education. However, after conducting a medical examination, the Belgian club’s doctor told him: “I was asked to stop playing football.”
Kouyaté’s Incredible Athleticism
Retiring at 36 is no bad thing for a professional footballer. Anyone who does so can certainly consider themselves to have enjoyed a full and fruitful career.
What makes Kouyaté’s revelation so astonishing is the type of player he was. He may not have been the most technically gifted midfielder, but he was incredibly athletic and covered an obscene amount of ground during matches.
There were certainly no obvious indications that he was managing a heart problem. If anything, his energy, power and box-to-box running were the defining qualities of his game.
That was precisely how he was described when West Ham signed him in 2014, with Sam Allardyce calling Kouyaté a dynamic midfielder and attacking force capable of contributing at both ends of the pitch.
A Huge Character at West Ham
I was fortunate enough to meet Kouyaté twice during West Ham’s final season at Upton Park. He was incredibly polite, clearly well-liked and, as far as I could tell, called everybody he met — including me — “boss”, which I always thought was rather pleasant.
I also bumped into him in the training-ground canteen, where it was obvious that he was the joker of the pack and a major personality within Slaven Bilić’s squad.
My abiding memory of Kouyaté is not actually anything he did on the football pitch. It is him bursting into song at the Hammer of the Year awards and leading a rendition of the Dimitri Payet chant during that unforgettable final season at Upton Park.
He was a real character and an important member of a special West Ham team.
I am simply pleased that Anderlecht’s doctors finally persuaded him to put his health first, allowing him to retire safely after a fine career.