6) Freddy Adu
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The Ghanaian-born American international’s career is surely one of the most famous horror stories for budding academy players.
At the tender age of 14, DC United made Fredua Koranteng Adu the youngest American footballer to sign a professional contract. By April 2004, he was the youngest American to ever appear in professional sports.
After 87 matches and only 11 goals though, DC United cut their losses and traded young Freddy Adu for a goalkeeper and future allocations. And that, kids, is where the merry-go-round began.
Since 2007, the ‘Next Pele’ has played football in 13 teams in 8 countries, including Serbia, Finland and Portugal. In that time, he has managed 16 goals in 90 appearances, as well as some special appearances as a nightclub promoter.
Now back in the United States with the Tampa Bay Rowdies, he is still fighting to salvage something from a career that promised so much. Perhaps he put it best when he said, “Everything that I’ve been through and everything that hurt my career, I brought it on myself because I didn’t dedicate enough time to it”.
Youngsters, be warned!
