back in 2007 World Soccer Magazine made a list of the 50 most exciting teenagers on the planet and if you look closely at the list you'll see some very interesting names like Mesut Ozil Juan Mata Tony Cruz Kareem Benzema and Hell Di Maria Sergio Aguero and Gareth Bale but if you look at the number one spot on the list back then the player who was considered better than all these Legends at the number one spot is no other than Sadiq Adams trust me I know what you're thinking who the hell is Sadiq Adams not many
of you might know him now but back then the promising Center forward from Ghana was one of the most impressive young talents in the entire African continent but his story is actually one of the most interesting and seemingly unlucky ones I've ever talked about from impressing in the world stage to suddenly dealing with legal issues and being screwed over by FIFA his club and his family so let's look at exactly what happened to Sadiq Adams in the South Korea 2007 FIFA under 17 World Cup Ghana would Shock the World when they would knock out favorites
Brazil in the round of 16 and almost narrowly beat Spain and Germany resulting in a surprising a fourth place finish for a team that everyone thought was relatively weak and the reason for this was no other than their Lightning Fast Center forward Sadiq Adams Adams really shined in Ghana's u-17 Squad his performances especially against Spain impressed even the managers and staff after all he was doing incredibly well even compared to La liga's best young prospects Sadiq possessed an incredible amount of speed technique and goal scoring skill that would set him apart from his peers at
a very young age his talent was undeniable and it didn't take long for him to attract attention and you have to understand around the early 2000s that strong and physical Strikers and forwards were very popular you had guys like Ronaldo Adriano Van nistel Roy Drogba and Ibrahimovic and perhaps that's why he was rank the number one most exciting footballer in the world back then he even said himself I couldn't believe I was chosen among the 50 most exciting in the world which included some big names my country even came forth in the competition but at
that young age and fitting into that archetype before sadiq's immense potential was recognized by Scouts from Top European clubs then one day shortly after the tournament out of nowhere he gets a call from an unknown Spanish phone number which turned out to be a representative from Atletico Madrid of course the young Sadiq had no idea just how serious they were about their interest and still felt happy about the call but never expected too much out of it until literally the next day he Atletico Madrid rap arrived in Ghana and offered Sadiq a contract then within
three days Sadiq Adams was able to obtain a Spanish visa and was on his way to Madrid imagine a guy from Ghana where opportunity into even the football infrastructure itself is severely lacking was given the life-changing opportunity to sign with one of the most elite clubs in the world however since he was underage a FIFA prevented Sadiq Adams from fully signing so Atletico Madrid had no choice but to sign him on the reserve team only but at the moment Sadiq couldn't have cared less because once he got to Spain he would go on to score
nine goals in 22 appearances for Atletico Madrid B with Injustice ban of a few months however this was when things would start to drastically go downhill Sadiq Adams would meet the expectations of Atletico Madrid so if they decided to move him up to train with their first team in his words it was the best moment of my life before their departure couldn't Aguero and Diego Forlan were around and I got the opportunity to play a Cup match with them and also joined a few first-team training sessions I watched all these Stars on TV when I
was younger so to train with them was a real dream come true moment for me just as Atletico Madrid Was preparing to transition Sadiq into the first team as he was beginning to gain traction FIFA would suddenly step back in an issue with Atletico Madrid's contract soon emerged and ultimately FIFA would hand the 18 year old Sadiq Adams a four-month band ultimately running his contract out and forcing him to move back and stay in Africa then on top of that he was charged a hundred and sixty thousand Tunisian Dinar or roughly around 50 000 US
Dollars which is more money than he ever made with any club or Academy in his home country the young Sadiq who had to work extremely hard in an already difficult circumstance just had the best opportunity of his life ripped away by FIFA and knowing what we know about FIFA today and it's a very corrupt former president I'm honestly not surprised It's always important to have some great lawyers by your side that's why today's sponsor Morgan Attorneys the official Law Firm partner of the UFC bring their everything for their clients in the courtroom and right now
Morgan Morgan is giving away two tickets to UFC 292 in Boston plus two thousand dollars to cover travel expenses and you can enter to win at www.morganus c.com Raymar football Morgan Attorneys bring their everything for their clients in the courtroom Morgan and Morgan have built a reputation for fighting back and never settling for less than what their client deserves Morgan Morgan is there to help you fight no matter who you're up against and get the best results thanks to Morgan Morgan for sponsoring this video ultimately FIFA's decision was a devastating blow to the young ghanian's
dreams and aspirations but to find out just what exactly was so wrong with sadiq's contract we'll have to go back just a few months before the u17 World Cup as Jake was on his way to the tournament without his knowledge the Dick's father would sign a contract with Tunisian football club etwa to Sahel because at the time nobody could have really known that Sadiq would get so much attention from the tournament as he himself wasn't old enough to sign for the club his parents had the legal authority to make the call you also have to
imagine the tough situation Sadiq and his family were already in they didn't have the opportunity or resources to financially support their sons the same capacity that most footballers growing up in Europe do so if they were desperate to sign Sadiq to a professional Club it might not exactly have been the right thing to do decide without Sadiq but at the same time you can't fully blame them so right after the u17 World Cup when Atletico Madrid came to offer a contract to Sadiq and his family technically he was already signed ended with the Tunisian Club
that's why several months later it's wad dussehill would reach out to FIFA with their legal dispute over sadiq's contract now of course FIFA could have just sat down taken a look at all things considered and denied its Nation club the rights to sadiq's contract after all the guy was in the u-17 World Cup when his parents made the Brash decision without him they could have given him a potentially generational changing opportunity and just keep letting him develop in one of La liga's most elite clubs but what did they decide to do they decided to deny
the chances to Showcase immense potential on the world stage the ban imposed by FIFA restricted Sadiq from competing in international competitions and prevented him from seizing opportunities that could have propelled his career to new heights he had to leave Spain and go to Tunisia to play but that's not all like I said they also find him fifty thousand dollars that was more money than his entire contract was worth for the Tunisian Club yeah that's right FIFA really charged this already struggling Ghanaian kid the amount an average American would make in an entire year and Sadiq
definitely did not have a first team contract with Atletico Madrid he was on a temporary Reserve contract that was so close to moving forward before everything went downhill FIFA really led a Tunisian Club take advantage of one of Africa's brightest young prospects without even paying him a decent wage and after everything was said and done Sadiq was in his early 20s with no real experience as he had to play in a league that many had no respect for and to make it worse Sadiq would try his luck in disturbing League where in his words my
experience in Serbia is the worst experience of my life that is the worst decision of my career and I still regret it I lived in hell because of racism it was horrible to live this experience for a young African like me it's not an excuse for me but being black being alone and without a family in a foreign country is sometimes very difficult a white man does not necessarily realize that next to him there is a black teammate who suffers I thought I had to be strong to help my family especially if I financially but
I was happy to leave Serbia this decision to leave Eastern Europe it only puts Deke Adams further and further from the spotlight and eventually he would return to Ghana where he spent a majority of his career moving between leagues in Africa and Saudi Arabia Sadiq never quite managed to break into world-class Talent after such major setbacks both mentally and legally into his career they enjoy what they are doing but we don't there's so much pressure so that's what I'm saying like they enjoy the game but the pressure they put on us we the Africans if
that's killing us but now at the later stages of his career City hopes to improve the conditions of Africa's leagues to give future Generations a better opportunity and better standards in infrastructure while his young career didn't turn out as successful and was unfortunately really screwed by FIFA he still managed to play football all over the world and was always a high level forward with a speed athleticism and a powerful shot sadiq's journey is a testament to the human Spirit and the power to never give up I really do wish the best for the guy and
I think what he's doing now to try to Advocate to improve Africa's leagues truly makes him a legend foreign [Music]
