Along with massive hype comes massive pressure and while some footballers embrace the attention, others simply fade away into mediocrity.
PrimenewsGhana take a look back at prodigiously gifted players who never lived up to the hype.1.Alexandre Pato
By 19, Alexandre Pato had already established himself as AC Milan's first-choice striker and been capped three times by Brazil. Now, at 28, 'The Duck' is in China, struggling to make a positive impression at Tianjin Quanjian and further away from the Selecao than ever before. Injuries undeniably robbed Pato of the pace he once used to terrorise defenders but his mental strength has also been repeatedly questioned, particularly during his disastrous stint at Corinthians. The very real fear now is that the striker's best days have long since passed.
2. Javier Saviola
Javier Saviola had the world at his feet when he joined Barcelona in 1999. At 19, he had already achieved superstardom at River Plate by lifting two titles as well as being named South American Footballer of the Year. His Camp Nou career started brightly, too, but the arrival of Frank Rijkaard as coach signalled the end of his time in Catalunya and, as it transpired, the peak years of his career. Saviola did claim a Copa Libertadores medal after returning to River but, even by then, he was little more than a shadow of his former self. "Looking back, I do wish I'd played more," he said of his time in La Liga.
3. Bojan Krkic
The man who took Lionel Messi's place in the history books as the youngest player to have represented Barcelona in a Liga fixture, Bojan appeared destined for greatness after netting 10 goals during the 2007-08 campaign. The Alaves attacker was still only 17 at the time. Yet that looks like it is going to be as good as it gets for the forward, who has since been deemed surplus to requirements by not only Barca but also Roma, AC Milan, Ajax and even Stoke. Indeed, it is telling that an attacker once considered "a treasure" by Frank Rijkaard has not reached double figures over the course of a single season since that thrilling debut campaign in Catalunya.
4. Federico Macheda
Macheda signed for Manchester United in September of 2007 as a 16-year-old, immediately going into the under-18 team, and scoring the only goal of the game on his debut. He progressed through the ranks, earning a spot on the bench on April 5th, 2009. Macheda came on for Nani after an hour, and with the match knotted at 1-1 in injury time, the young Italian turned and curled home a fantastic winner that was forever immortalized by Martin Tyler's jubilant screeching call. Expectations were for Macheda to be the new Ruud van Nistelrooy, but it wasn't to be. He only ended up scoring five total goals for United, and bounced around on loan before signing for Cardiff City permanently in 2014. His contract was cancelled by mutual consent in August of 2016.
5. Denilson
A World Cup winner and once the most expensive player in the world – yet it is impossible to view Denilson's career as anything but an anti-climax. Indeed, big things were expected of the fleet-footed winger who had broken into the Sao Paulo team at 17 before joining Real Betis for a record-breaking £21.5m in 1998. However, it quickly became evident that the Brazilian was adept at step-overs but little else. He would spend time playing in Saudi Arabia, the United States, Vietnam and Greece before eventually retiring arguably still most famous for the part he played in a classic, airport-based ad the Brazil squad made before the 1998 World Cup!
6. Diego Ribas
Zico once admitted that he and Diego shared some striking similarities. “For the role he plays and the way he takes free-kicks, it is true that we are a bit alike," the footballing icon said of his fellow Brazilian. However, whereas Zico is renowned as one of the finest players to have ever worn the No.10 shirt for the Selecao, the same cannot be said of the latter. Diego could have been, though. He was a teenage sensation, exploding onto the scene as a 16-year-old with Santos but he flopped at both Porto and Juventus and sparkled only sporadically at Werder Bremen and Atletico Madrid. Unfortunately, while the talent was there, the discipline was not.
7. Macauley Chrisantus
Chelsea, Tottenham, Liverpool and even Real Madrid were all said to have been interested in signing Macauley Chrisantus after he exploded onto the under-age scene by firing Nigeria to victory at the 2007 U-17 World Cup. Indeed, the striker had only been denied a Golden Shoe and Golden Ball double by a certain Toni Kroos. However, it's been all downhill ever since, with the forward having erred in joining Hamburg over one of Europe's elite. "I know very soon I will have the world calling my name again," he later declared - but that was nine years ago and he is presently plying his trade in the third tier of Spanish football with Real Murcia.
8. Nii Odartey Lamptey
Having escaped his abusive parents by being smuggled into Belgium to link up with Anderlecht, Ghana's Nii Odartey Lamptey began to build a new life for himself in Europe. However, the gifted Ghanaian – who was dubbed Pele's successor by the Brazilian himself after leading the Black Starlets to victory at the 1991 Under-17 World Cup – was ruthlessly exploited by agents and money men, and suffered one personal tragedy after another, losing two children to the same lung disease. "I have been through hell, through so much pain," he later confessed, after setting up a football school to provide kids with the education he was never fortunate enough to have received.
9. Royston Drenthe
Although Royston Drenthe still insists that he was unfairly labelled a "bad boy", trouble seemed to follow him around. After establishing himself as one of the most exciting youngsters in world football with his scintillating performances for Feyenoord and the Netherlands Under-21s, he then threatened to go on strike if his club did not allow him to join Real Madrid in 2007. However, despite a positive start to his career at the Santiago Bernabeu, he had run-ins with several coaches, including Jose Mourinho, and was eventually released in 2012. The aspiring rapper ultimately retired at the age of 29 to focus on his music career.
10. Freddy Adu
Read also: Top five football superstars who went from grace to grass
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