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The world of football has welcomed a lot of great talent to the big stage in recent years-- from Kylian Mbappe and Marcus Rashford to Christian Pulicic and Ousmane Dembele. It's always great to see young talent breaking through as they add extra excitement to every game when they are on the pitch.
However, for every Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, there is a host of talented players who fail to reach their potential. Some still go on to have a decent career, like Giuseppe Rossi, but they don't end up as the world beaters we expected them to. Others completely fall off the radar and end up in lower leagues.
Currently, there are a lot of former wonderkids still playing, but not at the level we expected them to reach. Let's take a look at them.
#10 Kerlon
I bet most football fans remember Kerlon and his "seal dribble". The attacking midfielder was the star of the 2005 U17 South American Championship, scoring eight goals in seven matches to lead Brazil to the title. He was the top scorer at the tournament and also won the best player award.
Soon after, Kerlon made a breakthrough at Cruzeiro and it didn't take long for him to cross the Atlantic. He signed for Inter and looked set for a very successful career. But it all went wrong for him.
Kerlon didn't make a single appearance for Inter and was loaned out numerous times. First to Chievo and Ajax, but he didn't impress in either club and was soon back in Brazil. By 2012, he completely fell off the map.
Stints in Japan, the lower leagues in the United States, Malta and Slovakia followed, but he struggled to stay healthy and was always slow to recover.
Kerlon is actually the only player on the list who's retired now. He packed it in only recently at the end of October, a few months before his 30th birthday. It was a very sad and sudden ending for the player once labelled as the next Ronaldinho.
"I had the privilege of doing something unique in the game. Guided by my greatest partner and friend, my father, we created a skill that had never been seen before," Kerlon wrote in a statement announcing his retirement.
Also read: 10 ultra-talented teenage stars who have failed to live up to their potential
#9 Dawid Janczyk
With the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Arkadiusz Milik and Piotr Zielinski in the team, Poland currently has possibly their best ever team. It could have been even better if Dawid Janczyk delivered on his early promise.
Janczyk caught the eye at the 2007 U20 World Cup. He scored three goals in four matches, including in the Round of 16 against Argentina. He gave Poland the lead in the first half, but Angel Di Maria equalized before the break and Sergio Aguero scored two in the 3-1 win for the Argentinians who ended up as the tournament winners. They conceded just two goals during the whole competition.
A year later, after being signed by Russian powerhouse CSKA Moscow, Janczyk narrowly missed out on selection for the EURO 2008 tournament. It was certainly a blow for the then 20-year old striker, but he looked to be on his way up. His debut for the national side followed later in the year.
Janczyk played in the Champions League for CSKA and won a couple of Russian cups, but soon found himself surplus to requirements at the club. He had a pretty good loan spell at Lokeren in the Belgian top flight in 2009/10, scoring 14 times in 31 games, but never developed further.
The now 30-year old player returned to Poland in 2011. He represented his boyhood club Sandecja Nowy Sacz last season and helped them get promoted to the top flight for the very first time in club history. However, he failed to secure a contract for this season and the former "Polish Wayne Rooney" is currently without a club.
#8 Valeri Bojinov
Considering how long he's been around, you'd think Valeri Bojinov would be retired by now, but no. He's 31, but lightyears away from the level he used to be at.
Bojinov was only 15 when he made his Serie A debut back in 2002 for Lecce and he played for Bulgaria as a 17-year-old at EURO 2004.
Bojinov was basically the best thing to come out from Bulgaria since Hristo Stoichkov and the early signs were very positive. Unlike many faded wonderkids, he actually spent a good amount of time in top European football with stints at Fiorentina, Juventus and Manchester City. Plus a host of other top-flight clubs in Italy and Portugal. Yet things eventually fell apart.
The now 31-year-old striker found himself back in his homeland in 2013/14. His final international appearances came around the same time. Later there was one good year in Serbia, scoring 18 goals in 31 games for Partizan in 2015/16, but he hasn't even scored ten league goals since then.
Bojinov terminated his contract with Partizan by mutual consent in February and ended up finishing the season in China's second division. He was back in Europe for this season, signing with Lausanne in Switzerland, but he's a free agent now.
"His contribution was not what was expected," said the club in October when announcing the termination of Bojinov's contract. Lausanne was the 14th different team for Bojinov.
#7 Gai Assulin
Gai Assulin is another player who has spent time at a couple of big European clubs, but things never worked out for him. At least not yet. He's still only 26, which means he could resurface on the big stage again. However, right now he is an enormously talented player who failed to reach his potential.
The Israeli attacking midfielder had a successful trial with Barcelona back in 2003 and worked his way up to the Barca B team. He also made his debut for the senior side in October 2009 in a cup game. However, he ended up leaving at the end of the season.
Assulin was a key player for Barca B when Pep Guardiola was still managing there. Once Pep got promoted, he had plans to bring Assulin with him and slowly introduced the skilful left-sided player to first-team action. But sadly Assulin missed most of 2008/09 through injury and it was all downhill since then.
In the summer of 2010, Assulin rejected a contract extension from Barcelona and left the club on mutual consent. He seemingly got a lifeline soon when he got snapped up by Manchester City, but things didn't work out in England either.
During his time at City, Assulin failed to make a single appearance. His only action in England came for the City reserve side and during a brief loan spell at Brighton in the Championship. He returned to Spain in 2012, signing for Racing Santander.
After a season back home in 2015/16, playing for Hapoel Tel Aviv, Assulin signed for Sabadell, a former Segunda team that's currently playing in the Segunda B.
Sadly for Assulin, his career seems to have hit a dead end. He also hasn't been involved in the Isreali setup after making his debut for the team as a 16-year-old. During his time at Barca, he had a conflict with the Isreali FA and thus he hasn't even been able to rack up some international caps to his name to stand out from all the players around Europe looking for contracts at top-flight clubs.
#6 Keirrison
Brazilian Keirrison is another former Barcelona player and you'll probably find his name on various lists highlighting the worst ever players at the club. However, you can't blame Barca for taking a chance on a player, who scored 21 Brazilian Serie A goals in a season as a 19-year-old.
Barca signed Keirrison in 2009 in a deal potentially worth €14 million. He signed a 5-year contract but was quickly loaned out to Benfica. He failed to impress in Portugal with no goals to his name in seven appearances across all competitions. He got sent back to Barcelona in the middle of the season.
A loan spell in Italy with Fiorentina followed and was more successful there compared to his time in Portugal - he had two goals in ten Serie A games - but it was still far from impressive. As a result, he hasn't been seen in Europe since 2009/10.
In recent years, Keirrison has spent most of the time at his first club Coritiba. The 2017 season ended with relegation for the side-- from a Pep Guardiola signed player to a Brazilian Serie B striker. A big fall from grace for the player, who turned 29 at the start of December.
"Many see in this young player the potential centre-forward for the Brazilian national team at the 2014 World Cup," Barcelona announced when confirming Keirisson's signing eight years ago. To this day, Keirrison doesn't have single Brazil cap to his name.
#5 Anthony Vanden Borre
Football Manager has given a failed wonderkid reputation to many young players, who actually haven't done much to deserve it. They have just been overrated by the researchers. Anthony Vanden Borre is a name FM players recognize, but he was also expected to do big things in real life.
10+ years ago there were two outstanding defenders in Anderlecht's youth system - Vincent Kompany and Anthony Vanden Borre. Some even rated Vanden Borre higher. He's the youngest ever player to play in the Belgium top flight, having made his debut back in 2004 as a 16-year-old.
Vanden Borre, who's six months younger than Kompany, left Anderlecht a year earlier than his close friend, signing for Fiorentina, but his career never took off like Kompany's did. After a year in Fiorentina, he joined Genoa, where he didn't play much and by 2010/11 he was back in Belgium suiting up for Genk.
After a couple of years in Genk, Vanden Borre signed for Anderlecht again. He played in Belgium until last year. A loan spell in Montpellier had a bizarre ending when he returned to Anderlecht in the middle of the season and suddenly announced his retirement from football. However, there was another twist.
Just a couple of months after retiring, Vanden Borre joined Congolese side TB Mazembe. His mother is from DR Congo, and he himself is actually born in Likasi, a city in the southern part of the country.
"I am a simple and honest boy but the football world is hard. Money is the most important thing and that is a shame," said Vanden Borre of his decision.
"I’ve always dreamed of playing for Mazembe. It is the land of my mother. This is a choice of the heart. Anyone who knows me knows what this club means to me. All my friends are excited, including Vincent. He congratulated me by phone."
Considering that Vanden Borre played in a couple of top European leagues and at the World Cup in 2014, his career is far from a failure, but it isn't ending the way it was supposed to. Kompany has had a much more successful career, even with all his injury troubles.
#4 Florent Sinama-Pongolle
Like Vanden Borre, Florent Sinama-Pongolle also had a lengthy run in various European top leagues, but he has ended up in a very unusual place. The former French international plays in Thailand for Chonburi FC.
Sinama-Pongolle was the starman of the U17 World Championship in 2001. He was the top scorer with nine goals and was voted as the tournament's best player. He and Anthony Le Tallec led France to their first ever U17 World Cup win.
Both were soon snapped up by Liverpool and they had some good moments with the team, but neither of them really cemented their place at the club, even though they spent quite a few years there.
Sinama-Pongolle later had a decent run in La Liga with Recreativo Huelva and Atletico Madrid, but he soon fell off. There were spells in Russia and the MLS before he signed for Chonburi last year.
The star of the U17 side ended up having only one senior cap, which came in 2008.
Le Tallec, by the way, is currently playing in the Romanian league. Things have ended up completely different compared to what was expected from the French super duo. Can't help but wonder, whether or not they would've made it at Liverpool and would still be top class players (both are just a few months older than Cristiano Ronaldo) if Gerard Houllier stayed at the club beyond 2004.
#3 Marvin Martin
The wonderfully named Marvin Martin is another Frenchman, who failed to hit the heights he was expected to reach. Back in 2011, he became only the 4th player to score twice on his France debut. He also recorded an assist in a 3-1 win over Ukraine.
Martin had just finished off a superb season in Ligue 1 where he had 19 assists in 37 games, plus three goals. He followed it up with a season in which he recorded two goals and eights assists, but he still made the EURO 2012 squad. Sadly his star faded quickly after that.
The Paris-born player was snapped up by Lille after the European Championship and it's almost like he left his magic boost behind. The 29-year-old hasn't scored a single goal since leaving his first club Sochaux!
The first year at Lille was decent with seven assists but health and lack of form became an issue soon. This season, the 29-year-old is playing in Ligue 2 for Reims after his 5-year contract with Lille expired.
Reims is currently leading the pack and is on track for promotion, so we might still see Martin in a top league again, but he actually hasn't contributed much to the success. With 18 games played, the man with 15 France caps has been on the field for only 270 minutes.
It's a sad story really. The man who was seen as the perfect replacement for Eden Hazard at Lille five years ago, now can't get a game even in Ligue 2.
#2 Fabio Paim
Talking about sad stories, the one of Fabio Paim is probably the saddest of them all in football.
Cristiano Ronaldo himself once said: "If you think I’m good, just wait until you see Fabio Paim."
Unfortunately, we haven't seen the now 29-year-old player at the top level since a loan spell at Chelsea in 2007/08, and even then, Paim only appeared for the reserve side.
Like Ronaldo, Paim is the youth product of Sporting Lisbon. He had 42 caps for various Portugal youth sides but never made it to the senior team. He hasn't even played for any Portuguese top-flight clubs for nearly ten years.
Paim was on Sporting's books until 2010 and after that, he embarked on a world tour of some sorts. His lengthy list of former clubs includes sides in Qatar, Malta, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Brazil.
The former wonderkid returned to Europe this November, signing for Leixoes B in his home country.
So what went wrong? Why does one have five Ballon d'Or wins to his name while the other has ended up as an amateur player? Paim himself recently admitted that while he had more talent than Cristiano, he lacked the work ethic needed to make it as a professional footballer He also noted Cristiano's will to win.
Ronaldo's famous quote "talent without hardwork is nothing" pretty much perfectly sums up the story of Paim.
#1 Freddy Adu
No list of washed up wonderkids is complete without this guy. The "new Pele" who actually even looked kind of like the Brazil legend.
Back in 2004, as a 14-year-old, Freddy Adu famously became the youngest athlete to sign a professional contract in the United States. Even before making his debut in MLS, he signed a $1 million sponsorship deal with Nike.
It all started pretty well for the child prodigy. He helped DC United to the MLS Cup win in his debut season, scoring five goals in 34 games, most of which came as a sub. By the time he was 16, Adu had 11 goals and 17 assists to his name in MLS. Very good stats for a youngster.
In 2007, Adu was the captain of the USA at the U17 World Cup in which the Americans narrowly missed out on a semi-finals place, losing to Austria after extra time 2-1 in the quarters. They beat a Brazil side that had Willian, Marcelo and David Luiz among others, in the group stage 2-1. Adu himself scored a hat-trick in a group match against Poland.
Benfica came calling after the tournament and as an 18-year-old, Adu made the jump across the pond, and that's when his rise suddenly stopped. During four years at the club, Adu featured in only 11 league matches for Benfica. He was loaned out numerous times but never found his feet at any place.
Adu returned to the US in August 2011 signing for the Philadelphia Union, a few weeks after a couple of standout performances at the 2011 Gold Cup in which the US lost to Mexico in the final 4-2. However, he never looked like the same player again. He had seven goals in 35 games before bolting for Brazil in 2013. He ended up spending only a few months at Bahia before being released. The same has happened many times since then.
As a 28-year-old, Adu has played for 13 different teams. He last suited up for the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the NASL.
This year, Adu looked to make a comeback in the MLS, but his trial at Portland wasn't successful. In August, there were reports of him being on trial at newly promoted Polish side Sandecja, but nothing came of that move either. Who knows, maybe we have heard the last of Freddy Adu as a footballer.
Adu was undoubtedly a very talented guy, but it looks like his career was ruined by the same reason Paim's run at the top was cut short - lack of hard work. Unusual circumstances related to the Ghana-born player seem to have played its part in that.
In 2012 Adu said: "My family was really poor. My mum was working two or three jobs to take care of my brother and me. So if Nike come to you and say they want to give you a million-dollar contract and the MLS wants to make you the highest-paid player at 14, you can’t say no. You just can’t. I said yes to everything that was asked of me and ended up doing a lot of appearances, a lot of promotion, a lot of interviews, and it took away from the football on the field. People saw me more as a marketing tool."
