Like Sonny Pike, there was buzz around Freddy Adu before he had even played a professional game. The young Ghana-born American forward was hailed as the next Pele and was linked with a host of clubs both in his adopted nation and abroad, after impressing in various age groups at international level. Repeated links with Manchester United never came to fruition, instead Adu signed professional terms with MLS outfit DC United at the remarkable age of just 14, on a reported salary of $500,000 a year. In addition to that hefty paycheck, Nike offered him a $1m sponsorship deal - all before he had played a professional game. Things started well for the precocious teenager. He helped DC United lift the MLS Cup in his first season and two years later - still just 16 - he made his bow for the US national team. After two years at DC he had a trial at Manchester United but was denied a work permit to play in England. Instead he was drafted to another MLS side Real Salt Late, and that's where Adu's career started to go into freefall. After just a handful of appearances for his new club he made what he hoped would be his big move to Europe with Benfica. He struggled to break into the first team in Portugal though and was loaned out several times, including unhappy spells at Monaco and Rizespor in Turkey. He was back in the MLS four years after leaving, this time with Philadelphia Union. Despite some decent performances, the club terminated his contract in 2013 amid rumours of his "disruptive influence" in the dressing room. After that he had short, unsuccessful spells in Brazil, Serbia and Finland before returning to the United States to sign for the Tampa Bay Rowdies, in the NASL, the league below MLS. Adu has already had a long career featuring 12 different clubs, but he's still only 26. The certainly isn't the new Pele, but he still has time to make a decent career for himself. Let's hope he does not waste the opportunity.
David is an office drone and freelance writer for WhatCulture and Moviepilot, among others. He's also foolishly writing a serialised novel on Jukepop and has his own irregularly updated website. He's available for freelance work. Reach out on Twitter to @davefox990
