Early career Born in
La Garenne-Colombes, France, to a
Congolese father and French mother, he began his career playing for hometown club
Racing Paris. In 1999, he joined the youth system of
Paris Saint-Germain playing at the
Camp des Loges, the club's youth academy. While at Paris Saint-Germain, Nzonzi, due to his height, was initially installed in the club's academy as a
striker and then as an
attacking midfielder. After a three-year stint at the
Ligue 1 club, he moved to the
Basse-Normandie region joining CA Lisieux. He later had one-year stints at both
SM Caen and
AS Beauvais Oise before finally settling in with
Amiens SC in 2005.
Amiens After featuring in the
Championnat de France amateur 2 for his first two years at the club, Nzonzi made his professional debut on 24 November 2007 in a
Coupe de France match against amateur club AS
Raismes appearing as a substitute in the 74th minute, Amiens won the match 7–0. He earned his first start on 15 April 2008 playing the entire 90 minutes in a 1–0 loss to
Bastia. Following the season, he signed his first professional contract and was officially promoted to the senior team.
Blackburn Rovers On 28 June 2009, it was reported that Blackburn Rovers had agreed a deal with Amiens to sign Nzonzi. The move was completed on 30 June, signing for a fee of £650,000, on a four-year contract. On 15 August 2009, Nzonzi made his debut for Blackburn where he made his first start in a 2–0 loss against
Manchester City and since making his debut, found himself very much part of
Sam Allardyce's plans. He scored his first goal for Rovers on 4 October 2009 against
Arsenal in the 6–2 defeat. After scoring his first goal, Nzonzi admitted he had been surprised at how quickly he had established himself in the side but was determined to keep his place in the starting XI. His second goal for the club was a 30-yard strike against
Everton on 17 April 2010 in a 3–2 defeat at
Ewood Park. On 3 May 2010, during the pre-match build up to the Arsenal game, he was announced as the Blackburn Rovers Player of the Year for the 2009–10 season, chosen by the fans. In August 2010, Nzonzi signed a new five-year deal with Blackburn, lasting until summer 2015. Rovers chairman John Williams said: "We are delighted to secure Steven for the long term. He was outstanding last year and the new deal is richly deserved." On 21 August 2011, Nzonzi scored his third goal for Blackburn with a header against
Birmingham City in a 2–1 defeat at
St Andrew's. Soon after Nzonzi found himself dropping down the pecking order as a result of both
Phil Jones and
Vince Grella's form in midfield. This led Allardyce urged him to raise his game and recapture his form of last season. Later on in his second season, Allardyce was sacked and replaced by
Steve Kean. On 2 April 2011, Nzonzi received his first red card of his career in a 0–0 draw against Arsenal two-footed challenge on
Laurent Koscielny. Nzonzi was banned for 4 matches and on 30 April 2011, Nzonzi made his return in a 1–0 win over
Bolton Wanderers. On 26 November 2011 against
Stoke City, Nzonzi was hit with a violent conduct charge for intentionally elbowing
Ryan Shawcross in the face. Nzonzi served a three-match ban after admitting an FA charge of violent conduct. On 11 February 2012, Nzonzi scored his first goal of the season and set up a goal for the club top scorer
Yakubu in a 3–2 win over
Queens Park Rangers. On 24 March 2012, Nzonzi scored his second goal of the season in a 2–1 loss against Bolton Wanderers. At the end of the season, Blackburn were relegated for the first time in 11 seasons and Nzonzi told manager
Steve Kean he wanted to leave.
Stoke City On 31 August 2012, Nzonzi joined
Stoke City for a fee of £3 million. He made his debut for Stoke in a 1–1 draw at home to
Manchester City on 15 September 2012 and his performance earned him the
man of the match award. Impressed with Nzonzi's start to his Stoke career manager
Tony Pulis believes that he will one day play in the
Champions League. Nzonzi was sent off for a "studs-up" challenge on
Jack Cork in a 3–3 draw with
Southampton on 29 December 2012. However no contact was made with Cork and Pulis decided to appeal
Mark Clattenburg's decision. His red card was later rescinded by
the FA. After reacting angrily to suffering a broken nose against
Fulham, Nzonzi was told to keep his temperament in check by assistant manager
David Kemp. He scored his first goal for Stoke in a 2–1 defeat against
Tottenham Hotspur on 12 May 2013. He ended the
2012–13 season having made 38 appearances for the club but once the campaign had come to an end he revealed that he was unhappy at the club and handed in a transfer request. His request was rejected by the club. in 2013 Under new manager
Mark Hughes, Nzonzi remained at Stoke going into the
2013–14 and he produced a
man of the match performance against
West Ham United on 31 August 2013. However, after this his performances dropped off and assistant manager
Mark Bowen advised Nzonzi to stop his 'theatrical sulks'. On 23 November 2013 he scored and provided an assist in a 2–0 win over
Sunderland. He was sent-off in the return fixture against Sunderland on 29 January 2014. After serving his suspension Nzonzi spent time on the bench much to his frustration. He returned to the starting line-up and scored in a 4–1 win over
Aston Villa on 23 March 2014. He played 40 times for Stoke in 2013–14 as the team finished in 9th position and Nzonzi stated that he is happy playing for Stoke under Mark Hughes. However he handed in a transfer request for a second season running. A move away from Stoke in the summer transfer window did not materialise, despite this Nzonzi insisted he is happy to carry on playing for Stoke. Nzonzi was an ever-present in
2014–15, playing 42 times as Stoke finished in ninth position for a second consecutive campaign. Nzonzi's performances during the campaign earned him the
Player of the Year award. In June 2015, with Nzonzi entering his final year on his contract, manager
Mark Hughes tried to convince him to agree to sign a new contract. However his efforts were unsuccessful and the club 'reluctantly' accepted a £7 million offer from
Sevilla. In total Nzonzi spent three seasons at Stoke making 120 appearances scoring seven goals. On 22 August, he was sent off on his debut in a goalless draw at
Málaga CF. Nzonzi initially struggled with the immense heat in
Andalusia, and a style of play based on retention of the ball and technical ability, but entered a period of good form in the second half of the season, culminating in Sevilla winning the
UEFA Europa League final against
Liverpool in
Basel. On 23 October 2016, his winning goal in a home victory over
Atlético Madrid put his team briefly on top of the league. He was voted
La Liga Player of the Month for January 2017, with the league's website writing "Often to be found in the thick of the action, Nzonzi showcased his aptitude for regaining possession and distributing the play, qualities which have seen him establish himself as one of the first names on Sampaoli's team sheet". On 14 March in the second leg of the last 16 of the Champions League, he had a penalty saved by
Leicester City's
Kasper Schmeichel – as did teammate
Joaquín Correa in the first leg – as Sevilla was eliminated 3–2 on aggregate.
Roma On 14 August 2018, Nzonzi signed for
Serie A club
Roma for an initial fee of €26.65 million, plus performance-related clauses that could be worth an additional €4 million. He signed a four-year contract. He made his debut 13 days later in a 3–3 home draw with
Atalanta, as a half-time substitute for
Bryan Cristante with the team 3–1 down.
ESPN FC's analysis named him as
man of the match for "adding weight and muscle" to Roma's midfield. On 6 October, he scored his only goal for the
Giallorossi, a header in a 2–0 victory at
Empoli. Nzonzi made 39 appearances for Roma in
2018–19 as Roma finished sixth in Serie A. On 16 August 2019, Nzonzi joined Turkish side
Galatasaray on loan for the
2019–20 season. He played 15 times for Galatasaray before he was suspended from the team for 'undisciplined behaviour'. He returned to Roma in January 2020 and was loaned to
Ligue 1 side
Rennes until the end of the
2019–20 season. After Rennes qualified for the
UEFA Champions League, Nzonzi's loan was automatically extended for
2020–21 season. At the end of the season Rennes turned down the chance to sign Nzonzi on a permanent contract.
Later career On 29 September 2021 Nzonzi left Roma and signed for
Qatar Stars League club
Al-Rayyan on a two-year contract. After two years in Qatar he signed a one-year contract with Turkish
Süper Lig club
Konyaspor in August 2023. He made 36 appearances for Konyaspor in
2023–24, helping them to narrowly avoid relegation. On 8 August 2025, Nzonzi returned to
Championship club Stoke City on a one-year deal. ==International career==