However, the competition for places meant he was less of a regular in the first team, and after four seasons and 88 appearances he transferred to Portsmouth, where he had previously been on loan for three months from Newcastle.

After leaving Portsmouth, he moved teams frequently, representing sides in Greece, Qatar, Cyprus and Turkey, in addition to a brief return to English football at Blackpool.

[7] He was playing for Leyton Sixth Form College, where he studied performing arts, when he was spotted at the age of 17 by second division side, Colchester United.

"[17] LuaLua also spent much of the beginning of the 2003–04 season on the bench and in November 2003, complained about his lack of first-team football and indicated that he would consider leaving Newcastle.

This also led to a change in legislation with the FA introducing standard rules meaning a player on loan could not play against their parent club.

I think Lua has touched foreheads with the lad," LuaLua made 26 league and cup appearances, scoring six goals, including two against local rivals Southampton, in the 2004–05 season.

[25][29] He made 26 appearances in the 2005–06 season, scoring seven goals, but missed several games in the autumn after contracting malaria on a visit to Africa to play for DR Congo.

[43] On 16 January 2008, LuaLua opened the scoring with a 30-yard volley in the Greek Cup fifth round, which saw Olympiacos progress to the quarter-finals in a 4–0 win against Panathinaikos.

[44] LuaLua missed both the knockout stages against Chelsea, having suffered from ankle injuries and a dislocated shoulder, the latter of which he received in a 1–1 draw against Asteras Tripolis.

[45][46] As a result, he missed most of the season, but returned on 20 April 2008 to help Olympiacos win their fourth Super League Greece title, beating Iraklis 3–1.

[49] Following his injury spell at Olympiacos, LuaLua joined Qatari based club Al-Arabi on a one-year contract in July 2008.

[50] On 30 October, Al-Arabi won the Sheikh Jassim Cup, beating Al-Rayyan Club 3–0 in the final with LuaLua scoring one goal in the seventh minute.

[55] LuaLua signed a two-year contract for an undisclosed fee with Omonia in July 2010,[56] reuniting with Takis Lemonis for the second time since Olympiakos in 2008.

[57] He scored his first goal on his league debut on 18 September 2010 in a 4–0 win against Alki Larnaca, coming on as a substitute for Georgios Efrem.

[61] On 24 May 2012, it was confirmed that LuaLua had turned down a new contract at Blackpool and had signed a two-year deal with Turkish side Kardemir Karabükspor.

[68] After leaving the club in 2018, LuaLua played for English non-league side Tilbury in July; featuring for the second half of a 1–0 friendly win versus Hashtag United.

[69] For the 2018–19 campaign, LuaLua returned to Northern Cyprus to play with Süper Lig teams Doğan Türk Birliği and Gìrne Halk Evì.

[70] On 13 November 2019, Southern League Premier Division Central side Peterborough Sports announced the signing of LuaLua.

[3][74] He played in the 0–0 draw with Togo,[75] the 1–0 loss to Cameroon,[76] the 3–1 win over Ivory Coast and the quarter-final match against Senegal, which DR Congo lost 2–0 amid some controversy.

DR Congo's qualifying campaign for the 2004 African Nations Cup in Tunisia began six months after the 2002 tournament ended, with a match against Libya on 8 September.

[81] LuaLua initially indicated that he might not play in the match, but did so reluctantly after threats were made to his family, which caused him to reconsider his international career.

[80] Following his sending off, LuaLua considered giving up international football and criticised the behaviour of the Tunisia players during the match and the organisation of the tournament.

[91] LuaLua received a four-match suspension for the sending-off and missed several 2006 World Cup qualifying round matches during the summer of June 2004.

[94] He missed the 1–1 draw with Ghana in March 2005 after a dispute with the DR Congo football association but committed himself to the match against Uganda in June.

[96] LuaLua played for DR Congo in the 2–1 win over Cape Verde in September but contracted malaria and missed the final World Cup qualifier against South Africa in October.

LuaLua was recalled to the DR Congo squad for a friendly against Tunisia played near Paris in November 2005, as part of the countries' preparation for the 2006 African Nations Cup held in Egypt in January and February 2006.

[101] He was named as the captain of DR Congo for the tournament in place of Shabani Nonda who was injured for a second successive Nations Cup.

[105] He appeared against Angola and Cameroon as DR Congo qualified for the quarter-finals stage of the tournament,[106][107] only to be beaten by the hosts Egypt.

[109] In the 2008 African Nations Cup qualifier against Ethiopia in April 2007, LuaLua scored the second goal in a 2–0 victory; the result extended their lead at the top of their group.

[120] He started all three matches—all draws—as the team exited from Group C. In September 2003, LuaLua was fined £175 by Newcastle Magistrates Court for watching British television without a licence.