Yann Gueho
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 29 November 1994 | ||
| Position | Winger | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Years | Team | ||
| CAP Charenton | |||
| Créteil | |||
| 2007–2008 | INF Clairefontaine | ||
| 2008 | Lille | ||
| 2008–2009 | Paris FC | ||
| 2009–2011 | Chelsea | ||
| 2011 | Nantes | ||
| 2012 | Bastia | ||
| 2015 | Paris FC | ||
Yann Gueho (born 29 November 1994) is a French former footballer who played as a winger. Having retired from the game before making a professional appearance, Gueho is known more for his high potential which saw him compared to footballing superstars Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappé, amongst others.
Gueho was born on 29 November 1994 to Anne-Marie and Jean-Pierre Gueho, who met while playing handball.[1] The third of six siblings, his younger brother Loup-Diwan is a professional footballer, currently playing for Cannes, on loan from Bastia.[1]
As a child, Gueho was also a talented tennis player, but his temperament would often cause issues, and after his first defeat, his mother recalls that he vomited and didn't move out of anger, asking "when am I going to play against him again?"[1] These anger issues extended into his footballing career, and while at Chelsea, former teammate John Swift recounted times where he would throw table tennis bats or break pool cues out of frustration.[1]
Gueho's disruptive nature led to him seeing a psychologist from the age of nine.[1] Initially diagnosed in France with "middle-child syndrome", a claim his mother rejects, and after causing issues with teammates during his time with Lille, another psychologist offered a different diagnosis, though Gueho was unwilling to take the medication he had been prescribed.[1] He was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2016, after his footballing career was over, spending three months in a psychiatric hospital.[1] As a result of his treatment for bipolar disorder, his physical capabilities were reduced to 10%, leaving him vulnerable.[2]
On the night of 9 November 2025, he was attacked with a knife in Choisy-le-Roi, with a man and a woman being arrested.[2] The man was later charged with attempted murder and gang violence, while the woman was charged with gang violence.[3] On 20 November 2025, Gueho was described by French newspaper L'Équipe as being "hospitalised, but conscious," after being "seriously wounded."[2]
Career
Early career in France
Gueho began his career with CAP Charenton, where his coach, Jean-Francois Godin, described him as a "genius".[1] He would reportedly do so many kick-ups for so long that Godin would have to ask him to stop.[1] His ability attracted the attention of Créteil, where he would often refuse the instruction of his coach, El Hadad Himidi, to track back and defend – something which would prove a common theme during his career.[1] Such was his ability that clubs would rely heavily on him, with former teammate at Créteil, Damien Dussaut, recalling a story where the team lost 6–1 to Paris Saint-Germain without Gueho, but won 2–0 on his return; Gueho scoring both goals.[1] His parents would try to discipline him by threatening that he not play football, but coaches would call them, insisting he play despite his behaviour.[1]
"The fact that he didn't manage to turn pro never made us bitter, simply because Yann had never expressed the dream of doing so. He never asked the French national team for autographs at Clairefontaine, for example, just their cleats."
Invited to the prestigious INF Clairefontaine football centre – an honour reserved for the brightest young French talent – Gueho refused to play in the full-back role he was initially assigned to.[1] Despite the Clairefontaine coach threatening him with not taking part in the game, Gueho shrugged his shoulders, with the coach changing his mind and playing Gueho in a more forward role.[1] Described by fellow Clairefontaine student Amadou Diallo as the "best of [their] generation", Gueho was eventually expelled from the training centre after seven months, having threatened a teacher at the Rambouillet secondary school.[1][4] A short spell with Lille followed at the age of thirteen, before Gueho eventually settled at Paris FC.[1]
Chelsea
Gueho's performances, including those at the regional section of the 2009 Nike Cup, drew the attention of Chelsea's French scout, Guy Hillion.[1] Hillion had already been responsible for Chelsea's signing of fellow French winger Gaël Kakuta, and after scoring in a trial game against West Ham, Chelsea offered Gueho a contract.[1] Gueho's academy progress report at the end of his first season described him as a "very gifted player" with "superb dribbling skills", but noted that "neglecting his defensive responsibilities [led] to animosity amongst team-mates".[1]
Gueho was monitored heavily at Chelsea, with Hillion reassuring his mother that the club were aware of his character.[1] He received support from the club's first-team psychologist, and had been provided with a home in Raynes Park by the club, where he lived with his mother and three younger siblings, with his father travelling in from France each weekend to watch him play.[1] The club would send nutritionist Nick Broad and academy coach Adi Viveash to try and calm Gueho during his outbursts, but Viveash would later comment that "you never knew with Yann where you were", and that he was "a troubled young person."[1][2]
Gueho was involved in first-team training on at least one occasion, despite being only fourteen or fifteen at the time.[1] During these training sessions, Gueho would not shy away from his flamboyant playing style, and spent the time nutmegging senior players – something which was seen as disrespectful, with experienced first team player Ricardo Carvalho reprimanding him after falling victim to Gueho's skill.[1] Gueho's behaviour culminated during an in-house friendly match involving trialists in April 2011; after being dribbled past by a trialist, Gueho kicked him, leading to a physical altercation that ended with Gueho on top of the other player.[1] The game had been attended by first-team coaches, and as this was another in a long list of incidents, Chelsea cut ties with Gueho.[1]
Return to France
After a trial with Fulham amounted to nothing, Gueho returned to France, signing with Nantes in the summer of 2011, where Guy Hillion was now serving as director.[2] Gueho's spell with Nantes was short-lived, as he would often clash with coaches and teammates during the three months he spent with the club, arrive late for training and often not do schoolwork.[1] Following his first arrest in late 2011, his agent, Housseini Niakate, persuaded the French judiciary system to allow him to join Ligue 1 club Bastia the following year, where he was roommates with future FIFA World Cup winner Florian Thauvin.[1] However, his time at Bastia was also short-lived, and he spent most of his time playing tennis and neglecting rehabilitation for an injury he had suffered.[1] His last chance in football came with former club Paris FC, where he joined the club's reserve team in early 2015, but again he seemingly did not take this opportunity seriously, spending three months wearing running shoes instead of football boots, before leaving the club.[2]