Salim Khelifi has ended his professional playing career, completing a final “transfer” from being without a club to full retirement, with his status formally recorded as retired as of 2026-02-03 and with no contract end date, as he is no longer active. The 32-year-old right midfielder, who holds both Tunisian and Swiss nationality, leaves the game with a final listed market value of €125k.
The conclusion of Khelifi’s career comes after a nomadic final stretch. Most recently, he had been unattached following a short spell with Venezuelan side Academia Puerto Cabello, which itself followed time in Australia with Perth Glory and a loan stint at Melbourne Victory. A move from Academia Puerto Cabello back to free-agent status was logged with effect from 2025-07-01, and his subsequent shift from being without a club into retirement was then confirmed on 2026-02-03.
Khelifi’s path to that point reflects a long professional journey that began in Switzerland and took in several countries and leagues. A youth product of FC Lausanne-Sport, he progressed from the club’s U18s into the first team, making his first recorded step up to senior football with a move from Lausanne’s U18 side to the main squad on 2011-07-01. His performances there earned him a transfer abroad to Germany, where he joined Eintracht Braunschweig on 2014-01-30.
In Germany, Khelifi’s value once peaked at around the €1.5m mark during his Braunschweig years, highlighting the regard in which he was held at his best. From Braunschweig he later moved back to Switzerland with FC Zürich, a transfer completed on 2018-07-01, before embarking on a loan spell at Holstein Kiel in Germany on 2019-08-23. That loan concluded with his return to Zürich on 2020-06-30.
A new chapter followed outside Europe. On 2022-09-15 he joined Perth Glory in Australia, later spending part of 2023-24 on loan at Melbourne Victory in a move dated 2024-01-19 before returning to Perth at the end of that loan on 2024-06-30. He then became a free agent again on 2024-07-01. The final club move of his playing days came on 2025-01-24, when he signed for Academia Puerto Cabello in Venezuela, before dropping back into free agency on 2025-07-01.
Across this varied club career, Khelifi was consistently deployed as a right-sided midfielder, operating predominantly on the flank and favouring his right foot. Standing 1.72 m tall and born in Lausanne on 26 Jan 1994, he represented both Tunisia and Switzerland at different levels, reflecting his dual-national background, and later retired also from national-team involvement.
With his last recorded market value at €125k while unattached and no further club engagement after leaving Academia Puerto Cabello, the move into retirement on 2026-02-03 closes the book on a career that spanned Switzerland’s top flight, Germany’s competitive tiers, Australia’s A-League, and Venezuela’s Primera División. His trajectory from promising Lausanne prospect to experienced international journeyman underscores a professional life marked by adaptability, multiple cultures, and a willingness to test himself far from home before finally stepping away from the game.
