Former Juventus academy hopeful Çendrim Kameraj, who once trained with superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, has captured global attention after a viral social media post highlighted his career shift from professional football aspirations to working in construction.
The 26-year-old Swiss national’s TikTok post dramatically contrasted his time alongside the Portuguese football icon with his current reality wearing a construction hard hat. The images resonated deeply with viewers, quickly accumulating over 12 million views and 1.4 million likes.
Kameraj’s caption, “Sometimes, life changes,” succinctly explained his journey.
His dream of a professional football career was tragically cut short by a series of injuries, including three ligament ruptures over six years. This forced his premature retirement in 2024 at just 25 years old.
Cendrim Kameraj went from Juventus academy prospect to construction worker in just 7 years, a truly sad story. ???? pic.twitter.com/Hk7X7cZrOF
— Forza Juventus (@ForzaJuveEN) October 21, 2025
He now works as a human resources consultant for ICM Bau AG, a construction company. His role requires HR staff to spend at least one day on construction sites to gain a firsthand understanding of the demanding physical labor involved.
Kameraj lamented the turn of events, telling Swiss newspaper ’20 Minuten’, “Why me? I gave everything for football, stayed in shape, went to bed early, never went out, and had talent…”
He had spent two years, from 2017 to 2019, with Juventus’ U19 and U23 teams, training at the elite level. His promising youth career also saw him represent Switzerland internationally from U15 to U19 levels and Kosovo at the U21 level.
Despite his career pivot, Kameraj maintains a connection to the sport. He currently coaches FC Ebikon, his childhood club, which competes in Switzerland’s amateur football divisions.