They called him Barcelona’s ‘new Messi’, he ended up in Japan and was without a team for the tenth time in his career

There have been many players called to be ‘the new Messi’ in recent years, many of whom have also grown under Rosario’s wing, but to date none have lived up to expectations. This is the case of Bojan Krkic, the Spanish striker who practically trained alongside Leo in the historic Barcelona de Guardiolabut who today lives a very different reality from that of the captain of the Argentine national team.

The Catalan striker made his debut for Barcelona’s first team in September 2007, aged just 17, and from the start he had several chances thanks to Rijkaard and Guardiola, which would never give him full power. For the great passage in the Barça youth categories and for his explosive style, he was quickly compared to Messiand was even referred to as Rosario’s successor when Leo was just over 21 and had an entire career ahead of him.

To date, Messi has exceeded expectations, to the point of becoming, for many, the best footballer of all time. A few days ago he gave a shot of authority and established himself as the best player in a World Cup who, after 36 years, would finally return to our country, but Bojan’s reality is quite different. In the last few hours it has been confirmed that the attacker, who moved to Japanese club Vissel Kobe in August last year, will finally have his pass back in his possession.

At just 32, Bojan has already been without a club on no less than 10 opportunities, with injuries the main culprit. From an early age, Krkic was plagued by physical discomfort and the Pressure to integrate one of the most important teams in the world, something he recounted in his autobiography. In it, she explains that he has come to suffer anxiety attacks since before his debut for Barcelona, ​​this was due to the pressure he was exposed to at such a young age.

Although Bojan was never able to carve out a place in Barcelona’s starting XI, he appeared as an alternative on the substitutes’ bench for several years, which explains his 163 appearances for the Blaugrana. He was one of the youngest players to make his debut for the club and the one to reach 100 games in the shortest time, but his Barcelona adventure will come to an end in 2011. Bojan was loaned out with the intention of adding minutes, which he would not have achieved even away from Barcelona.

After his spell with the Catalan team, Bojan defended the colors of Rome, Milan and Ajax, until Barça finally decided to sell his pass in 2014. At the height of his career, Krkic was rated one of the most expensive footballers in the world, but would eventually be sold just under 2 million euros. At that time, Bojan was already cataloged by some media as the biggest fiasco in the history of Barcelonaalthough there were still several missteps along the way.

After being transferred to Stoke City Bojan would return to add minutes and show some glimpses of his undeniable quality but once again found himself hampered by injuries and an inability to sustain his good performances. After three seasons in the Premier League, Bojan again entered a string of loan deals which never quite found him comfortable. Then, he would pass through Mainz and Alavés, in both cases without pain or glory.

In 2019 he would finally have the pass in his possession, and his new destination would be nothing less than the MLS, where he defended the colors of Montreal. Without much shooting, he has added just 31 games on North American soil, and in 2021 he signed with an at least exotic team: the Vissel Kobe of Japanclub where he still plays Andres Iniesta. His stay in Asia wasn’t the best: he played 26 games and scored just one goal, which won’t finish convincing the Japanese.

The Asian team has never had much interest in renewing the contract with the Spaniard, and for this reason it has been decided that Bojan will keep the pass in his possession from next year. Today, without a club and with an uncertain future ahead, an unusual possibility presents itself: that of playing in the Kings League, an amateur football championship organized by Gerard Piqué, Ibai Llanos and many other streamers and personalities from the world of training. In fact, Sergio Agüero himself will have a team in this new championship.

The truth is that in 2007, when he appeared as the new promise of a world star at La Masía, few expected Bojan to end up playing at 32 in a tournament organized by influencers. The truth is that the Catalan striker will try to have a new opportunity in professional football, and in Europe there is already talk of the possibility that the striker will return to the Old Continent. Already in the final stretch of his career, Bojan will try to return to showing those flashes that made him stand out years ago.