Freddy Adu still hasn’t given up on his playing career.
Adu’s story has become folklore by now: a child prodigy who turned pro at 14, only to become a journeyman who played on more than a dozen teams and never lived up to his billing as ‘the next Pelé.’
Now 33, Adu’s career seems for all intents and purposes to be finished. His most recent foray into the game came when he signed for Swedish third-tier club Österlen FF in 2020. But he would never play a minute for the club, which terminated Adu’s contract just a month after he arrived in Sweden.
‘We were actually a little surprised at how unprepared he was when he came here,’ Österlen vice chairman Filip Lidgren told Aftonbladet at the time.
Adu’s most recent professional minutes came in 2018 with USL sideLas Vegas Lights. Though it’s now been four years since he last played professionally, Adu, who has worked as a youth coach in Maryland in recent years, is still hoping that he can find a club to hand him a trial.
‘I know that wherever I go, they’re probably going to need to see me, because it has been a couple of years since I have really played at a high level,’ Adu told Offers.Bet.
‘But if the opportunity arises, I’ll definitely attack it. I’ve had a few family things that I’ve been helping on, but now that everything is more settled, I have to get in the best shape of my life and attack it if the opportunity arises.
‘But it’s not something I’ve given up on. I still want to play and I love the sport way too much, and I know that I have a lot more to give – so that’s why I haven’t called it quits yet.’