10 wonderkids who failed to reach their potential

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Former Barcelona striker Keirrison is on the list of former wonderkids who are still playing

The world of football has welcomed a lot of great talent to the big stage in recent years-- from Kylian Mbappe and Marcus Rashford to Christian Pulicic and Ousmane Dembele. It's always great to see young talent breaking through as they add extra excitement to every game when they are on the pitch.

However, for every Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, there is a host of talented players who fail to reach their potential. Some still go on to have a decent career, like Giuseppe Rossi, but they don't end up as the world beaters we expected them to. Others completely fall off the radar and end up in lower leagues.

Currently, there are a lot of former wonderkids still playing, but not at the level we expected them to reach. Let's take a look at them.

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#10 Kerlon

Kerlon demonstrating his famous "seal dribble" playing for Brazil

I bet most football fans remember Kerlon and his "seal dribble". The attacking midfielder was the star of the 2005 U17 South American Championship, scoring eight goals in seven matches to lead Brazil to the title. He was the top scorer at the tournament and also won the best player award.

Soon after, Kerlon made a breakthrough at Cruzeiro and it didn't take long for him to cross the Atlantic. He signed for Inter and looked set for a very successful career. But it all went wrong for him.

Kerlon didn't make a single appearance for Inter and was loaned out numerous times. First to Chievo and Ajax, but he didn't impress in either club and was soon back in Brazil. By 2012, he completely fell off the map.

Stints in Japan, the lower leagues in the United States, Malta and Slovakia followed, but he struggled to stay healthy and was always slow to recover.

Kerlon is actually the only player on the list who's retired now. He packed it in only recently at the end of October, a few months before his 30th birthday. It was a very sad and sudden ending for the player once labelled as the next Ronaldinho.

"I had the privilege of doing something unique in the game. Guided by my greatest partner and friend, my father, we created a skill that had never been seen before," Kerlon wrote in a statement announcing his retirement.

Also read: 10 ultra-talented teenage stars who have failed to live up to their potential

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