Success continued in 2010 with Zakuani scoring ten goals and debuting for the Congo DR national football team in a friendly.

After his retirement from soccer, Zakuani helps young athletes through charity work, joined the Sounders' game-day broadcast team, and coaches at Bellevue High School.

They eventually settled in a north London neighborhood with other African families, where Zakuani attended White Hart Lane School.

After losing interest in soccer and renewing his scholastic efforts, he watched motivational speaker, and evangelist, Myles Munroe with a teacher.

This inspired Zakuani to renew his commitment to becoming a professional player and, although unsuccessful, he tried out for the senior teams of Queens Park Rangers, Wigan Athletic, AZ Alkmaar, and Real Valladolid.

[1] In 2008, Zakuani scored 20 goals and 7 assists over 23 games to become a finalist for the Hermann Trophy; an award given yearly by the Missouri Athletic Club to the country's top college soccer player.

[3] He played a portion of the 2008 USL Premier Development League season with the Cleveland Internationals, with whom he scored nine goals and made four assists in 11 matches.

[5] Zakuani was selected by expansion side Seattle Sounders FC as the number-one pick in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft on a Generation Adidas program contract.

[6] He declined offers from two English clubs so he could sign with Major League Soccer; the deal allowed him to set money aside for future college tuition.

[12] Although Zakuani was already known as a top young player, coach Sigi Schmid wanted him to improve his on-field decision making and increase his fitness before the next year.

[13] In 2009, a shoulder injury that had limited Zakuani's ability to play the full 90 minutes per game forced him to undergo surgery during the off-season.

Zakuani also won the award for his perfectly timed break past the defensive back line for a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper while scoring a goal against Toronto FC.

[22] On 22 April 2011, a harsh challenge by Brian Mullan led to Zakuani fracturing his tibia and fibula three minutes into a game against the Colorado Rapids.

He later apologized in the face of increasing scrutiny and received a 10-game suspension (matching the longest ban in MLS history to date) and a $5,000 fine.

Nelson Rodriguez, an executive vice president of MLS, said in a statement that the disciplinary committee "felt the egregious nature" of Mullan's foul justified the punishment.

[27] Zakuani's injury was one of several to key players throughout the league that year, leading to criticism that MLS play was aggressive to the point of "thuggery".

[35] Zakuani's contract was allowed to expire, effectively ending his five-year career with the Sounders, during which he started in 67 of 78 appearances in league play.

[40] Zakuani was expected to receive additional minutes immediately because first-choice winger Rodney Wallace was recovering from injury.

[2][44] Of his five siblings, as of April 2015[update], his older brother Gabriel Zakuani plays for English club Northampton Town and is a member of the Congolese national team.

He expressed interest in representing the Congolese national team early in his professional career,[45][46] but considered his chances of playing for England "a long shot".

[54] He declined to join Apple TV's MLS Season Pass, which replaced local broadcasts in 2023, due to the national travel schedule.

[56][57] Zakuani served as an assistant coach for the Tacoma Stars, an indoor team in the Major Arena Soccer League, from 2015 to 2016.

[63] Zakuani has said his ultimate goal is to open an academy to teach life-coaching and soccer to teenagers to provide a "bridge between talent and actually making it".