Bobby Adekanye: after Barça, Liverpool..., "I would make exactly the same decision"

Fifteen years later, Adekanye appears on screen via a video call from Singapore during a meeting with the same VI. He is settled in a common area of his building in this Asian island nation, where he has been playing for a few months with the Lion City Sailors, the country's top club.

His partner is cooking while chatting with her family. “It’s a bit quieter here at the moment.” He vaguely recalls the visit from VI to their apartment in Alphen aan den Rijn back then. He has certainly revisited the photos illustrating the article over the years, where he is wearing the Barça jersey.

“But I don’t remember everything I might have said.” At that time, the young man's name already preceded him. Especially when, even before reaching his twenties, he enhanced his career by signing with clubs like PSV Eindhoven, Liverpool, and Lazio.

What does it mean to be a footballer with such high expectations from the start? And how does it feel when you fail to meet them? “Do you know what it is?” Adekanye says.

“If I could go back to the moment of that interview, I would take exactly the same path afterward.” He thinks for a second or two. “Because yes, I loved it, and in fact, I still enjoy every moment.”

For three years, Adekanye trained at La Masía, the famous FC Barcelona training center. His journey ended abruptly when FIFA decided that the club had violated rules by signing too many young foreign talents in Catalonia.

After a year at the PSV Eindhoven academy, Liverpool, another major European club, was already waiting for him. Sometimes, Gerrard would also train with us, and he would always come looking for me to tackle.

On Merseyside, after some time, he had the chance to be guided by Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard in the Youth League. “I was thrilled to learn that,” Adekanye recalls. “However, the first week, the chemistry didn’t click right away.”

Gerrard thought he dribbled too much and needed to pass more. Adekanye responded that it was precisely those skills that had brought him to the club. In other words: the two men were not immediately on the same wavelength.

“Sometimes, he played with us in training, and he would always come looking for me to tackle.” From time to time, young Adekanye had to take instructions from Stevie G. He adds with a laugh: “They say you should never meet your idols; that was definitely the case here.”