For a player who has been part of six league title winning teams in three countries and has played in the final of the UEFA Champions League and European Championship, Kingsley Coman’s record as a professional footballer stands out any time. But at just 22 years old, the Bayern Munich and France attacker is now considering retirement.
Coman could bring a premature end to his football career if his ankle injuries persist. This is despite still being regarded as one of the most promising young players in the world. But fitness problems have severely restricted him in recent years. This term he has made just three appearances for Bayern in the Bundesliga, while he managed only 21 last season and 19 the campaign before.
The former Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus winger featured in Bayern’s two most recent league outings after over three months out with damaged ankle ligaments, a recurrence of an issue which saw him miss a similar amount of time towards the end of last season. And now, his patience is starting to wear thin and another comparable injury could see him call it quits despite his young age.
“It was a very difficult year,” Coman told TF1. “When I hurt myself, it was the end of the world for me. I hope I don’t have to relive what I’ve been through, enough is enough. I will not accept a third operation — it will mean maybe my foot is not made for this level. I will then lead another life, an anonymous life.”
Coman joined the PSG youth academy in 2004. After nine years in the club’s youth system, he made his professional debut for the French club in February 2013 against Sochaux which ended in a 3–2 defeat, with the forward coming on as a substitute for Marco Verratti in the 87th minute. This made him the youngest footballer to play for PSG at the age of 16 years, eight months and four days.