Bojan Krkic looks on with unease as increasingly younger players make their way into professional football. The Spaniard knows from personal experience that things can go badly wrong.
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Currently, Bojan sits on the board of Barça, primarily dealing with youth and loaned players. The former footballer, who also spent a year on loan at Ajax, knows better than anyone what pressure can do to a young player. After all, Bojan was often referred to as the natural successor to Lionel Messi and joined the first team amid great expectations.
Bojan had just turned seventeen when he debuted for Barcelona's senior team, but nowadays there are players who are even younger when they play their first game. Lamine Yamal was not even sixteen when he got his first minutes at Barça. A significant milestone for such a talent, but Bojan also finds it concerning.
The forward struggled with panic attacks in the past, prompted by the high expectations. This is addressed in the documentary about him, called 'Bojan Krkic, beyond the smile.' AS spoke with Bojan ahead of the documentary's premiere, where the former forward expressed his concerns.
"A fifteen-year-old wants to train with the second team and a sixteen-year-old with the first team. We are normalizing things that are not normal," Bojan points out regarding the increasingly younger age of professional footballers. "This situation causes everyone to be on edge, and we need to stop that. We are talking about children in their developmental years. Children we need to talk to. Something really needs to be done about it."
Bojan then made a notable statement. "This documentary is about my personal situation and the fact that Messi is not an example. Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo are not ordinary cases. They cannot be an example for the young because they are otherworldly. You can be successful in many other ways," believes the former footballer. "Joselu joins Real Madrid at the age of 33, Sergio Canales makes it to the national team despite three major knee injuries. Those are the success stories that young people should look up to."
Updated: 10:46, 3 Nov 2023
