Burnt-out talent. They were predicted to have a great future, but they never fulfilled their potential

From time to time, the football world celebrates a young prodigy who is supposed to be a future icon. Sometimes he fulfils his potential, but sometimes the career of the celebrated teenager goes very wrong. Which talented footballers have not reached the peak of their powers?

When you say wasted talent, of course everyone thinks of Adriano, Robinho or Mario Balotelli. However, let’s take a look at the lesser known cases who also had huge potential.

Bojan Krkic – 32 years old, uncommitted

He was supposed to be the next Messi. At 16, Bojan started to shine in Barcelona’s A-team, scoring 12 goals in his first season. But in the next three seasons he failed to make it into the Culés starting line-up, so he left for AS Roma. After one season, he went on loan to AC Milan, and spent another season on loan at Ajax.

But that was the end of Bojan’s list of famous clubs. His career had only a downward trend. He signed for a few years with Stoke in England, where he played two and a half seasons, then went on loan. He tried to kick-start his career at Mainz and Alavés, but together he scored only 1 goal in these two engagements.

So in 2019 he left for MLS, where he played for Club de Foot Montreal. At the age of 31, he became a free agent and was without a commitment. In early August, he signed for Kobe of Japan, where he will play with Andrés Iniesta. However, he had the potential to play with the Spanish wizard at the height of his fame in Barcelona.

He didn’t last long at Kobe either, playing only 20 games and scoring one goal in two years, and has been without a contract since the new year.

Hachim Mastour – 24 years old, Renaissance Zemamra

Italian super talent with Moroccan roots. Mastour was already training with AC Milan’s A-team at the age of 15, and judging by his performances in the youth, he was considered a future Ballon d’Or winner and one of the biggest talents in the world. He was supposed to make his mark with guest spells at Malaga and Zwolle, but he didn’t make it into adult football in either engagement.

Mastour is a great example that talent alone is not enough. Fame went to his head at the age of 16, he reportedly never put in much of a workout and only sinned on his undeniable talent.

He played for Reggina in the Italian third division, then for Carpi in Serie C. He played 10 games there last season and scored one goal.

After the end of his contract in Italy, he was out of contract for a year and a half, so he returned home. In the winter of 2023 he signed for Renaissance Zemamra, a team in the second Moroccan league. So far he has jumped into one game and scored immediately.

Max Meyer – 27 years old, Fenerbahce

You can’t quite say Max Meyer has had a bad career. Schalke, Crystal Palace, Cologne, now Fenerbahce. But the skilful central midfielder had much more to offer, as he started playing for the then-hot Schalke side at the age of 17.

In his first full season he was part of the starting line-up of the club from Gelsenkirchen and scored 7 goals. He also played 9 games in the Champions League, where Schalke were knocked out in the eighth round by eventual winners Real Madrid. He was considered a huge talent in Germany, and was to be the driving force behind Die Mannschaft in the future.

But his performances at Schalke began to wane and after six seasons he left for Crystal Palace. There, he played 46 league games in two seasons and scored only 1 goal and 2 assists, a very poor record for a midfielder.

He moved to Cologne, where he played 11 games in the 2020/21 season, without a goal or an assist. Last summer, he went as a free agent to Fenerbahce, but he lasted only half a year and played only 6 league games.

In the winter he tried to kick-start his career at Midtjylland in Denmark, but he didn’t do well there either, playing eight league games and returning to Turkey. Thus came a complete career setback when he went to Lucerne, Switzerland before the current season.

On the other hand, here at least he is doing well individually, collecting 7 goals and 3 assists in 18 league games. He also scored in the cup.

Adnan Januzaj – 28 years old, Basaksehir

The Belgian footballer flew into his professional career in style. He joined Manchester United in the 2013/14 season when he was 18 years old and scored 4 goals and added 3 assists in his first season. One of the Red Devils’ best players, he was set to be the next big star at Old Trafford.

However, his training morale was not very high, which was later reflected in his performances. In the 2014/15 season, he appeared in 18 games, but he didn’t score a goal or an assist and his performances were far from the ones he wowed United fans with.

So he tried to make a splash at Dortmund, but there he only appeared in 6 league games and didn’t impress. Subsequently, he went on loan to Sunderland, where he played 25 games in the Premier League and notched 3 assists.

In 2017 he left for Real Sociedad on a transfer, the Spanish La Liga suited him quite well. In four seasons at San Sebastian, he racked up 16 goals and 18 assists, and has bounced back slightly.

That’s why Sevilla chose him as a reinforcement in the summer of 2022, but that engagement ended in failure. Januzaj played in just two games in six months, new coach Jorge Sampaoli didn’t want him in the team, so the 28-year-old Belgian left for a loan spell at Turkish side Basaksehir in the winter.

Source: Livesport, Transfermarkt