I was told I'd never play football again after going blind in one eye, now I'm set to face PSG in the Club World Cup

The Sun

23-06-2025

ONLY two years ago, Georgi Minoungou was told he would never play football again.
However, now he is set to line up against the champions of Europe, Paris Saint-Germain, at the Club World Cup.
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Seattle Sounders star, Minoungou, was hit by an eye infection in the summer of 2023 that left him without vision in his left eye following a series of unexpected events during a Marbella training camp.
For many, such a severe setback would be life-changing, let alone spelling the end of a footballer's career.
However, Minoungou has shown an incredible resilience and determination to forge a living out of playing football - even if it is something the 22-year-old is too humble to say out loud.
Speaking to Sportbible, he said: "I wasn't supposed to be here. I should've retired at 20. But now, every game is like a final to me."
Ivorian winger Minoungou arrived in the United States in 2022 after a 20-hour flight to Washington from Czech second-tier side MFK Vyskov to join Tacoma Defiance, the reserve team of Seattle Sounders, on loan.
All he had with him was a suitcase, a poor grasp of English and his footballing skills which he had been polishing at the age of two.
But from humble beginnings in the small town of Batiebly, his football skills shone through and earned him a permanent move ahead of the 2023 season - the club's first-ever international transfer.
He said: "There was already a contract prepared for me to join the first team permanently.
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"Everyone was happy – coaches, staff. Everything was in place. Then we came back from the game, and it happened."
Minoungou had scored in a friendly against Swedish side Hammarby IF.
However, just days after being described as a "special" player by assistant coach Predrag Radosavljevic, disaster struck as the Ivorian was forced to sit on the sidelines, before things got much worse.
After a few training sessions, his eye had grown swollen and itchy. Three days passed and it became full of blood, and it had undergone a full colour change by the time another week passed.
Minoungou recalled how one shocked specialist admitted they had not seen "anything like it in 38 years," and even described his look as having been hit five times simultaneously with a ball.
Doctors eventually put him under the knife, where they discovered the nerves in his left eye were completely dead, speculating the origin could have been from a tumour or cancer, or even something he had had as a child - with as many as six MRI scans failing to pinpoint the reason.
Hyphema was another diagnosis put forward, but it did not matter to, Minoungou who only wanted to play as he said: "I'd worked so hard for that first-team contract, and now it felt like my whole life was falling apart.
"Then the doctor told me something that hit even harder: 'Georgie, I don't think you'll be able to play football again'."
While his eye had been saved, his vision hadn't, and the emotional experience left him feeling like he had fallen from the 100th floor of a high-rise block of apartments.
Doctors had prepared the paperwork to say he couldn't play anymore, but Minoungou asked them to give him a week to prove he could still play.
And despite going against doctor's orders and only being able to see one side of the pitch, Minoungou had team-mates jokingly asking him if he was sure he could see with just one eye after he managed to dribble past everyone.
It took around six months for the winger to make a full recovery, making his comeback on the pitch before he eventually made his Major League Soccer debut against LA Galaxy in May last year.
He had to wait a little longer for his first goal, which finally arrived in November against Vancouver, but his hard work has paid off, and now he will have the chance to test his skills against one of the world's best in Nuno Mendes.
The two-time MLS Cup champions take on PSG at Lumen Field at 8pm tonight.
Minoungou, who still has to go to the hospital every six months or so for a routine check-up up concluded by revealing what he would say to the 2023 version of himself.
He said: "I'd look at that version of me and say, 'Bro, you did great not giving up.
"If you had, you'd have missed one of the biggest games of your life.' I'll probably face Nuno Mendes – and he's one of the best left-backs in the world right now. Man… it's unbelievable."