Crystal Palace and West Ham United favourite Cheikhou Kouyaté has been forced to bring his playing career to an end, thanks to a long-standing heart condition.
The 36-year-old appeared on Walf TV – a Senegalese TV station – to announce his retirement from football.
The midfielder had been without a club since January. He left Turkish side Amed SK following a career break last year.
He had previously enjoyed spells with West Ham, Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest – the latter his last club before his career break.
Premier League career
Cheikhou Kouyaté joined the Hammers in a €7.5m deal in 2014, going on to make 147 appearances for the club before moving to Crystal Palace in 2018 for €10.7m.
141 appearances for the Eagles followed before he left on a free transfer in 2022, when he joined Nottingham Forest. He went on to make 36 appearances for them before his ‘career break’ in 2024.
A move to Amed followed next but he would manage just nine appearances for the club between September 2025 and January 2026 before bringing that arrangement to an end. He’d been searching for a new club ever since but has now decided to call it quits.
| Cheikhou Kouyaté — career statistics | Years | Appearances | Minutes played | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FC Brussels | 2007–2008 | 10 | — | 0 | — |
| Kortrijk (loan) | 2008–2009 | 26 | 1,712 | 3 | 0 |
| Anderlecht | 2008–2014 | 206 | 17,081 | 6 | 5 |
| West Ham United | 2014–2018 | 147 | 12,640 | 15 | 8 |
| Crystal Palace | 2018–2022 | 141 | 10,448 | 3 | 4 |
| Nottingham Forest | 2022–2024 | 36 | 1,288 | 1 | 0 |
| Amedspor | 2025–2026 | 9 | 184 | 0 | 0 |
| Club career total | 575 | — | 28 | 17+ |
Doctor’s decision pushes Cheikhou Kouyaté
That was a decision which was taken out of his hands, though. He revealed how a heart condition – which he’d managed at West Ham, Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest – led doctors to ask him to end his time on the pitch.
“I suffered from this heart problem since birth,” he explained via SeneWeb.
“I played with it. In England, it was monitored every six months. I had medical checkups at West Ham, Crystal Palace, and Nottingham Forest. Every time I had the tests, the problem reappeared.
“The doctors always pointed out the problem to me, but I took responsibility myself. I signed the insurance papers stating that anything that might happen to me would be my responsibility.”
It was then a routine medical with former club Anderlecht – who he made 206 appearances for earlier in his career – that led to the end of his playing career this summer.
“Anderlecht called me to play there and also to start training as a coach. But after the medical examination, the doctor asked me to stop playing football,” he concluded.
