Chelsea's 24-year-old former footballer is ready to fight in Ukraine

Nikolya Te, who joined the "Chelsea" academy at the age of 13, ended his football career at the age of only 24. After several difficult seasons, the former French-Ivorian goalkeeper decided to start a new life - service in the army.

Lent.az, referring to foreign media, reports that on April 1, 2025, he joined the 1st Parachute Hussar Regiment (1er Régiment de Hussards Parachutistes), an armored cavalry unit of the French army. And soon in an interview with "Ouest-France" he even said that he was ready to fight in Ukraine. This generally applies to any French operation abroad. "This does not scare me", the former athlete emphasized.

"I passed the tests successfully, I got the regiment I wanted. I'm ready, I train for it every day", he added.

His decision to leave football at such a relatively early age surprised many. Especially because at the beginning of the season, clubs from the national championship approached him. Nicolas Te says that he simply lost interest in football. Moreover, he has always loved the military, so he thought: "Why not try?".

Saying goodbye to football was also easy, because Nicolas never wanted to be a professional. Nicolas, who has no diploma or other experience, thought about military service. He didn't want a sedentary job. In the morning he went to the recruitment office in Poitiers and two months later he became a soldier.