Freddy Adu has revealed the stunning amount he believes he would be worth aged 14 in the modern transfer market.
Adu was regarded as one of the most promising footballers on the planet when he rose through the youth ranks in the United States.
He joined the US Olympic Development Program and starred in an under-14 tournament against the likes of Lazio and Juventus, which caught the attention of Major League Soccer sides.
Then in its infancy, the league offered Adu the biggest contract in its history during the 2004 SuperDraft, when he was aged just 14.
The MLS assigned him to DC United, who selected him as their first overall pick, in order for him to stay close to home.
The contract meant he earned a staggering $500,000-a-year, and he subsequently became the youngest player to appear in an MLS fixture in April 2004, still two months out from his 15th birthday.
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There were unsurprisingly comparisons to some of world football’s greats, including Pele, and he was signed to several major endorsement deals as interest in his career soared.
While Adu would not go on to become the much-touted star of world football that many predicted he would be – he signed for Benfica in 2007 before returning to the US in 2011 and retired in 2021 – a wonderkid at such a young age in modern football would no doubt be handled differently to back then.
And speaking in an interview with SPORTbible (via the home of sports betting in Canada), Adu spoke about how much he believes he would be valued as a 14-year-old in the modern game – and the figure might surprise you.
He said: “In today’s society, it [my $500,000 contract] would be 10 or 20 times more, to be honest with you.
“As far as transfer and going over to the team and going over to Europe, because of all the hype around everything, I think it would be over £100 million.
“Even though I was only 14 or 15, there would have been a lot of teams that were in on it that would have boosted up the price. It would have been a bidding war.
Freddy Adu faces off against Frank Lampard during a pre-season friendly against Chelsea – Getty
“Nowadays, there are a lot of younger players, a lot of great younger players, but when I was coming out there really wasn’t a lot. Guys like Messi were already in the Barcelona youth system, so they weren’t going anywhere, so it was a little bit different with me. It would have been crazy.
“A lot of people don’t know how crazy. I had a lot of options at the time, but I decided to stay here in the MLS because I just so young. My mum didn’t want me to have to go and live in another country, because we came here to have a better life, with my family. At that point, I wasn’t ready to go to another country.
“If everything was there and I had gone to another country, it would have been crazy, I’m telling you.
“I didn’t even entertain leaving to go overseas. There was interest, but my agent didn’t really push for it, because I had made my mind up that I wanted to play here first.”
How would a 14-year-old Freddy Adu’s career pan out if it were starting today? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.