Background and career
Salomon Armand Magloire Kalou (born 5 August 1985) is an Ivorian former professional footballer who played as a forward or winger. He started his career with local club ASEC Mimosas. He moved to Feyenoord in 2003, becoming a key player for the team in the 2004–05 and 2005–06 Eredivisie, scoring 35 goals in 67 appearances. Kalou moved to Premier League side Chelsea in 2006. During his six seasons with Chelsea, he won numerous honours, including the Premier League, the UEFA Champions League, four FA Cups and the League Cup. He moved on a free transfer in July 2012 to Lille, where he spent two seasons before moving to Hertha BSC for an undisclosed fee. He played 172 games and scored 53 goals in six seasons for Hertha. He played one season with Brazilian team Botafogo. A full international for the Ivory Coast since 2007, Kalou amassed 93 international caps and represented his country at two FIFA World Cups, six Africa Cup of Nations tournaments and the 2008 Olympics. He was part of their teams that won the continental title in 2015 and came runners-up in 2012.
Kalou was born in Oumé. Like his older brother, Bonaventure, he began his career with local club ASEC Mimosas, before moving to Europe. He signed for Feyenoord in 2003 and in 2004, he was loaned to Feyenoord's "satellite club", Excelsior. Kalou then returned to Feyenoord and played in the Dutch top flight Eredivisie for two seasons from 2004 to 2006. During his time with the Rotterdam-based club, he scored 35 goals in 67 league appearances, also winning the Johan Cruijff Award in 2005 as the most promising young talent of the season. Kalou, together with Dirk Kuyt, were affectionately known as "K2" by Feyenoord fans and the Dutch media, a play on the words of K3, a Belgian pop band. Kalou was linked to several other clubs, including Auxerre, the French team his brother played for.
Kalou moved to Chelsea on 30 May 2006 for an undisclosed fee, believed to be approximately £9 million. Under contract with Chelsea until 2009, Kalou was handed the number 21 shirt. Chelsea manager José Mourinho praised the young Ivorian as being hardworking, versatile, eager to improve and unafraid of the physical side of the game. Kalou admitted that he brought a camera with him to his first training session at Chelsea's training centre at Cobham because he could not believe that he was going to be rubbing shoulders with famous footballers like Michael Ballack, John Terry and Didier Drogba. Describing the experience, Kalou said "This was the dream moment of my life and I did not want to wake up and find that it was not real." At Chelsea, Kalou played with his compatriot and Ivory Coast captain, Didier Drogba. Kalou scored his first goals for Chelsea in a reserve game against Portsmouth, bagging a hat-trick and earning the match ball in a 5–0 thrashing. He made his competitive debut in the 2006 FA Community Shield, and then scored his first senior goal for Chelsea in a two-goal win over Blackburn Rovers in the third round of the League Cup. In December 2006 in Chelsea's 3–2 victory over Wigan Athletic at the JJB Stadium, Kalou scored his first Premier League goal, then scored his second league goal against Blackburn in Chelsea's 3–0 win. He also scored a 93rd-minute goal against Watford, putting Chelsea 1–0 up. He also scored a volleyed goal from 12 yards against Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup quarter-final, which ended 3–3. Chelsea won the replay 1–2 before progressing to the final with a similar scoreline against Blackburn. Kalou also came on as a substitute in the FA Cup Final win over Manchester United for his second trophy in England, having earlier come on as a substitute for Chelsea in the league Cup Final victory over Arsenal.
Kalou continued his good form into the season that followed, scoring his first goal of the campaign against Manchester City in Chelsea's 6–0 victory at Stamford Bridge and the opening goal against Derby County in a 2–0 win. His last minute cross into the penalty area led to John Arne Riise scoring the own goal in the UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg at Anfield, which gave Chelsea a vital away goal over Liverpool. Kalou also scored with Chelsea's sixth penalty in the Champions League final in Moscow, where Chelsea lost to Manchester United.
Kalou did not feature much under Avram Grant's successor, Luiz Felipe Scolari, except during pre-season, because of his participation in the 2008 Beijing Olympics as part of the Ivory Coast national under-23 football team. However, he came off the bench against Manchester United on 21 September and scored a header after 80 minutes from a Mikel John Obi free kick. The goal ensured that Chelsea secured a point and kept their unbeaten home record. Kalou then scored two goals and assisted a Frank Lampard header on 18 October in Chelsea's 5–0 win at Middlesbrough. On 14 January 2009, Kalou scored a tap in against Southend United in the third round of the FA Cup as Chelsea ran out 4–1 winners in the replay. Again he scored two goals against Middlesbrough, this time at Stamford Bridge on 28 January, a 2–0 Chelsea win, becoming a favourite under interim manager Guus Hiddink. These strikes proved to be his first goal in 15 Premier League games. He celebrated the goals by making a "handcuff" gesture, but denied he was supporting an Ivorian convictionist. On 25 April 2009, he scored the winner against London rivals West Ham. Kalou was an unused substitute in Chelsea's 2–1 win over Everton as the Blues won the FA Cup on 30 May.
Chelsea beat Manchester United to lift the 2009 FA Community Shield, with Kalou scoring the winning penalty. He scored his first goal of the 2009–10 season against Queens Park Rangers at Stamford Bridge in the third round of the League Cup, earning his team a 1–0 victory. On 12 October 2009, Kalou signed a three-year contract extension with Chelsea, keeping him at the club until the summer of 2012. He celebrated his new contract with an brace against Atlético Madrid in the Champions League, helping Chelsea maintain their perfect record in the competition. On 24 February 2010, he scored a goal against Internazionale in the Champions League round of 16 first leg. His shot from outside the box was tame but an error from Inter goalkeeper Júlio César allowed the ball to find the back of the net in a 2–1 loss. In Chelsea's 7–0 win over Stoke City on 25 April, Kalou netted a hat-trick, though his second goal of the day had been the source of controversy, as it was very close to being a two-footed tackle. Kalou scored Chelsea's third of eight goals on the last day of the season against Wigan, as the Blues were crowned champions.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
