The ex-footballer embarked on a career change after playing in the same team as several players who have gone on to make their mark in English football

In the 2017/18 season, Ajax's Under-17 side produced several players who would go on to star in the Premier League. The talent didn't end there, though, with another of their stars now embarking on a new career as a successful musician.

Arsenal defender Jurrien Timber, Liverpool midfielder Ryan Gravenberch and Sunderland striker Brian Brobbey were all part of an academy side which got the better of rivals PSV Eindhoven in September 2017. Future Dutch international Kenneth Taylor was in midfield with Gravenberch that day, while winger Sontje Hansen would go on to play for Curacao at the 2026 World Cup.

Also in that matchday squad was Elikia Mbinga. The midfielder came on as a substitute for Hansen and would make several further appearances before rejoining boyhood club PEC Zwolle in 2018.

Unlike some of his former team-mates, though, Mbinga has moved on from football altogether at the age of 25. These days, music is his passion, four years on from his fifth and final Eredivisie outing.

Mbinga's Spotify account, where he records under the name ELIKIA, has just shy of 500,000 monthly listeners. His most successful single, 'Mentality', has more than 16million plays on the streaming service and its lyrics reference another talented midfielder, Aurelien Tchouameni.

He also recorded the track 'Jelele' about the fall and rise of Spain international Ansu Fati, linking up with the former Barcelona star in April. The midfielder-turned musician counts Wizkid and Burna Boy as his big influences these days but also has a lot of time for his former team-mates who have made it at football's highest level.

Mbinga remains in touch with Arsenal star Timber and his twin brother Quinten. He watched both siblings play for their respective clubs this season - Quinten moved to Crystal Palace over the summer - and their ex-colleague is proud of the pair.

“Big shout out to them because when I come to London they really welcome me," he told The Sun. “When I look at it, it’s more like maybe I left professional football, but football never left me.”

Explaining the career change, he said: “[The passion for music] was always there. My family is very musical, my brother can sing and play a lot of instruments. So it’s in the family.

“But football was always the number one priority, and then there was this switch, my interest for music grew and I was like, ‘I have to make this decision, what do I want to do?’

“I terminated my contract at PEC Zwolle and just decided to put everything on music. And the crazy thing is I didn’t even have my first song ready, I didn’t even have my studio. I started from scratch and from there I just kept on building.

“It was a really big risk also because my whole childhood was football. It was my whole identity. I can imagine like for other people around me there was like, ‘Yeah, you’re crazy, man. Why would you do that?’ And for me it was pretty clear. I really believed in myself.”