10 wonderkids who failed to reach their potential

#1 Freddy Adu

Freddy Ady is currently without a club after playing for 13 different teams

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."