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At 34 years of age, Chris Mavinga has made his mark as a professional soccer player in Europe and North America, having played in Ligue 1, the Jupiler Pro League, the Russian Premier League, and MLS across his 12-year playing career. However, it’s fair to say that Mavinga’s story began thanks to Africa.
Born in Meaux, France, to an Angolan mother and a Congolese father, Mavinga grew up plying his trade on the streets of the Paris metropolitan region and developing his skills with a number of amateur French sides before eventually joining Paris Saint-Germain in 2006 after impressing against their U-16 side, rejecting interest from Liverpool in the process. He spent three years at PSG, rising through the academy and even training with the first team, but he never quite managed to do enough to earn his professional debut or a senior contract. It’s why he decided to depart the club in 2009, leaving Paris for the first time in his life and making the move to Liverpool, rejecting a move to Arsenal in the process.
Whilst Mavinga enjoyed success with the reserves and started training with the first team under Rafa Benitez, he was relegated back to the B team under new coach Roy Hodgson, prompting him to seek out a loan move midway through the 2010/11 season to Genk. Mavinga made his senior debut and won the Belgian top-flight during his brief spell before making the move to Ligue 1 side Rennes, where he emerged as a key figure in defense. However, after traveling to a Parisian nightclub with his teammates in between France’s U-21 Euro qualifiers in November 2012, he was banned from the France national team for a substantial time period, as well as branded a national pariah. It eventually led to Chris Mavinga being pushed out of the club in the following summer and joining Russian club Rubin Kazan.
“It was a tough time for me and my family because I was playing my first minutes in Ligue 1,” stated Mavinga to News Central. “It was a big mistake to go out after the game…I didn’t want any more trouble, so I didn’t speak to the media, I just focused on what was happening on the pitch.”
Chris Mavinga became a regular contributor in defense for Rubin Kazan but returned home after just one season, bouncing around from lowly Ligue 1 outfits Reims and Troyes on loan. It was during this spell where he also made his international debut at the senior level. Having played for France at the U18, U19, U20 and U21 level, Mavinga gave up his hopes of representing Les Bleus and instead decided to play for DR Congo in 2015, making five appearances in total for the Leopards.
“After everything that went down with France’s U21s and Rubin Kazan, I knew that making the France senior team would be difficult. I had the option to pay for DR Congo and Angola. My mom wanted me to play for Angola, and my father was like ‘No, play for Congo. But growing up in my family, I felt more Congolese. That’s why it was easy for me to pay for Congo, because I can speak the language, whereas my mom didn’t teach me how to speak Portuguese, hence why I preferred Congo. It was an opportunity to connect with my family in Congo, because I didn’t know much about them, so I was really happy to see them.”
When he returned to Rubin Kazan, he found himself devoid of minutes. It’s why, in January 2017, Mavinga made the move across the Atlantic and joined Toronto FC. Similarly to many others like Mathias Laborda, Jeyhan Bhindi and Quentin Westberg, Mavinga was able to build an impressive reputation in Canadian football, winning the first trophies of his career (apart from the league title in Belgium where he was a bit-part figure). He helped Toronto become the first and only team in MLS history to win a domestic treble in 2017, making 153 appearances with the Reds and claiming the elusive MLS Cup title, before departing for California in 2023. After just a year with LA Galaxy, Mavinga found himself as a free agent, eventually prompting him to hang up his boots.
“When you play, you don’t think a lot about retirement. You know it will come, but you’re always training every day. They waived me two days before the 2024 season opener, which I didn’t expect. It was a tough situation and a difficult time. You just stay home, you don’t know what to do, and you see your life change bit by bit. Your friends and teammates, who were texting you every day when you were playing, now no longer see you after you step back from the field. When you send a DM or a message on Instagram, they don’t respond as quickly as before. I wasn’t ready for that at the time, but now I feel much better after a year.”
“It obviously wasn’t easy for me, but I was more focused on my son’s condition, so I wasn’t on the train anymore, I just wanted to make sure my son is fine and spend more time with the family. You can see the difference when you’re on the field to play, and when you’re not playing anymore. Even the weekend, you just start from the game, you don’t want to go outside, you just want to rest, and now you have more time to play with them during the week, on weekends, and drop them at school, so this is making me more happy in my life.”
Today, Mavinga is focused on raising his daughter and son, who received a clean bill of health from the Vein of Galen brain abnormality, in addition to chasing his pilot’s license. And whilst he’s been retired for over a year, he has nevertheless remained connected with football thanks to the various scouting badges that he has accrued. He still remembers the day that he joined Liverpool like it was yesterday, and he is keen to give that same happiness to a young boy who’s pursuing his footballing dreams.
