Nicolas Tié, Ivory Coast goalkeeper, has retired from professional football at just 24 years old to pursue a career in the French army, according to Ouest-France.
On April 1, he officially joined the 1st Parachute Hussar Regiment (RHP), an armoured cavalry unit.
Speaking to the regional daily, Tié explained that he had “lost the passion for football” and found inspiration for his new path from his stepfather, a paratrooper in Ivory Coast.
“I’ve always admired military careers,” Tié said. “I used to visit the barracks and observe. It inspired me to think, ‘Why not join the army?'”
Born in Lille to Ivorian parents, Tié began his football journey at the Institut du Football Régional (IFR) in Châteauroux before joining the Chelsea academy at 13.
He signed his first professional contract with the Premier League club at 17 but never made a first-team appearance and left in 2020.
Internationally, Tié was called up to the Ivory Coast national team in 2020 but remained on the bench during a friendly against Belgium.
A year later, he was selected for the Ivory Coast squad at the Tokyo Olympics (originally scheduled for 2020 but postponed to 2021 due to COVID-19), though once again, he did not play as the team exited in the quarter-finals.
