Former Sunderland goalkeeper Kelechi Chibueze has revealed how he walked away from professional football at just 22 and began a new career as a sales development representative in London.
The London born goalkeeper, who is of Nigerian descent, spent two years at Sunderland after developing through the academy systems of Chelsea and Leicester City.
Chibueze joined Sunderland in November 2023 and featured for the club’s under 21 side while regularly training with the first team. He made 14 Premier League 2 starts across two seasons, including 13 during the 2024 to 2025 campaign.
He left Sunderland at the end of the 2024 to 2025 season after struggling to secure a new club and subsequently decided to bring his professional football career to an end.
Chibueze has since taken up a position as a sales development representative at CrowdStrike. He said the discipline, resilience and competitive mentality developed during his football career have helped him adjust to his new profession.
He admitted that leaving football was difficult at first because of the major difference between professional sport and working in a corporate environment.
“The transition was difficult initially because football is so physical and you are out on the grass every day,” Chibueze said.
He explained that sales has similarities with professional sport because it requires determination and the ability to deal with setbacks.
“A lot of people told me that sales was a good career for sportspeople because you have that competitive drive, resilience and discipline,” he said.
“Sales is a game of dealing with rejection and continuing until somebody says yes. It has not been too difficult to adapt to, and I am really enjoying it.”
Chibueze has also considered returning to football at non league level but said combining the demands of a full time job with regular training would be difficult.
He said his experiences at Leicester had affected his passion for the game and made it difficult for him to commit to competitive football again.
“That year at Leicester made me lose a lot of my passion and drive for football,” he said.
“To balance non league football with a job, you really need that passion and drive, and I cannot find that in myself anymore.”
Although he has ruled out a return to competitive football for now, Chibueze said he has started playing casually with friends.
The former goalkeeper also represented England at under 16 level, winning five caps. Through his Nigerian heritage, he remains eligible to represent Nigeria.
His decision to move into sales marks a significant change after years spent pursuing a career in professional football. Chibueze is now applying the resilience and discipline developed in elite academy football to a completely different career path.
