‘I’m a Chelsea hero – I’ve joined the army to pass on what I learnt’ | Football | Sport

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Former Chelsea star Florent Malouda is now serving in the military in French Guiana. Born in Cayenne, the largest city of the French overseas territory, Malouda moved to Paris at the age of 15 to pursue his football career.

Despite his success, he has always maintained a strong connection with his South American birthplace, even playing for the French Guiana national team in 2017. Now, at 44, he's giving back to his community by joining the region's citizens' reserve.

"The 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment welcomes Florent Malouda as an officer in its citizens' reserve," they announced on social media last week. "After an exceptional career in international football, he is keen to share and pass on the values of commitment to young Guyanese alongside the legionnaires of the 3rd REI."

He recently shared photos on Instagram of himself on duty in the Amazon rainforest, writing: "While passing through the Amazon in my home territory, I was able to follow an initiation during the CEFE Authorities course of the 3rd REI at the Equatorial Forest Training Center.

"Thank you to @3e_rei for this moment of cohesion and for these values of team spirit in the face of adversity. These are essential values in high-level sport."

In order to serve, Malouda has relocated back to his homeland. The regiment is stationed in Kourou, an hour's drive up the coast from Cayenne. The French Government describes civic service as "a system that enables civilians (often recognised in their fields) to make a voluntary contribution to promoting the values and missions of the military institution, without being military personnel themselves".

During his illustrious six-year stint at Stamford Bridge, Malouda clinched numerous titles including the Premier League, the Champions League and three FA Cups. He joined from Lyon in 2007 and went on to play 229 times for the Blues, scoring 45 goals.

He left in 2013, a year after playing his final game for the club - Chelsea's Champions League final victory over Bayern Munich - and joined Trabzonspor. After that, he played in India, Egypt, Luxembourg and back in France, before retiring in 2018.

He hung up his boots with 80 games for France under his belt, including one in the 2006 World Cup final. However, he was still eligile to play for French Guiana because they aren't affiliated with FIFA. This is because the area is considered a region of France, rather than an independent nation.

Malouda first played for French Guiana in a friendly match against Barbados in 2017, and subsequently represented the team three more times. However, he was barred from participating in any CONCACAF tournaments as he was cap-tied for France.

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