"when life is handed to you on a plate, you never understand how food is cooked".

He didn't "throw it away". It's just he loved the lavish life more than he loved football, and when football tried it's hardest to make him suffer on his last year on Atletico it's understandable that he would call it quits. Not everyone that is talented loves football the way fans does.

I'm Portuguese and clearly remember Dani. And when he went to West Ham, i remember the cover of one magazine or journal saying something like "lock your daughters at home, Dani has arrived". 😁😁

I was in the same School with Dani when he was spoted by Sporting, in Queluz which is a suburb of Lisbon. Hardly a rich area. His father was my philosophy teacher in that same school. I am sorry about his wasted opportunity but he came from a middle class family, not from a rich family as portrayed.

Poverty is a big factor to the greatest players, it puts drive into men from young. Dani didn't know about that feeling

Can’t believe I had never heard of this guy

Proof that happiness is all about perception and what a person values .

A lot of people in the comments speaking about how he "Threw it away", you guys need to understand not everyone has the same aspirations and motivations in life, just because you might want to be a footballer doesn't make it so everyone who doesn't is mistaken. You can be miserable in any situations if it's not what you need, some people prioritise happiness over things like wealth or work.

The opposite of Ronaldo, just shows that hard work and passion go a long way

Aquele sotaque tuga que so nos conhecemos! Great video man and its great to see that somebody didnt forget Dani. Hugs from a tuga in the UK

To be fair there's a lot of us that wouldn't have even bothered getting through the youth program at a football club if we came from such a rich family and not that interested in football. He deserves some credit for that

He really didn´t hate football, he hated the work ethic.

To be fair, anyone standing next to Ian Dowie looks handsome

You won't always be motivated, thats why you need Discipline

He really had potential. I’m a Ajax fan and he was a star in Holland, not only because he was a good player but also because he was like a pop star and the lady’s really loved him. For a while he was the king of the Amsterdam nightlife. I heard stories about him going with 7 girls to his hotel…1 day before a match…

I used to sign him on a free transfer in Football Manger (Championship Manager back in the day). Think it must have been 2004 when he was on a free and hadn't yet retired in real life. Solid freebie. Shame he didn't have the professionalism to make the most of his gifts and talent but as long he is happy with his life choices, that's all that matters. His life to live how he chooses.

Check this one out. I am from Lisbon and although i never met Dani, i knew some of his friends. His stories were legendary. The best in my opinion happened in London. Dani was partying in a club, drunk out of his mind, when a small blond girl started seducing him. He says good bye to his friends and walks out with her and checks in a hotel near by. They spend the night in the room, and she leaves in the morning while he stays there sleeping the day away. When he wakes up he notices that all his friends tried to call him multiple times. He calls back to one of them that immediately starts asking him about the night. Dani finds it odd, because to him it was just an other night in the town as usual, he was not understanding what was all the fuss about. Then him friend tells him: dude, you left the club last night with... Kylie Minogue!!

He valued his life more than the football. His life came first. That's living the dream

Its amazing that he probably achieved more than 99% of all professionals who has ever played the game. We tend to forget how special the top 10 or so players are. They're basically a drop in the ocean.

That was very refreshing. Thank you. Never knew the player. It's ok if he didn't push his talent as long as he's happy and doesn't regret it.

You can always rely on Harry Redknapp for a classy quote.

You do excellent biopics on footballers’ and histories, appreciate you doing so especially in a secondary language. Very much a famine when it comes to football culture in US. Sports are stories, and if Americans don’t know the stories or history, they won’t be able to appreciate it. You deserve more subs than 50k, so stay consistent and they will come.

Discipline is not for everyone, Dani is proof of a diamond that never needed to be cut but in the end was broken.

how good was lingard? man, he's the longest wonderkid i have ever seen

Lol on 5 mins what's up with the alien heads!!! Dowie usually looks weird but even Dani looked mad !!

It’s sad as a fan when a player or sportsman doesn’t really care for it although they have all the talent in the world . I’m a boxing fan and historian and have talked to pro boxers about historical bouts and they ain’t interested or don’t care . Sport can be your life as a fan but the athlete’s you idolise to them it’s just their job haha . Kinda like if you’re a mailman and someone is like wow that’s an amazing job do you know the history of the Royal Mail or tnt etc you’d be like ye whatever

Some people are just born with it all. He had good looks, money, talent, but unfortunately lacked drive & discipline.

The funny thing is, although he never broke through at Ajax, he still was extremely popular. And "Dani" became a popular boys' name in the Netherlands, you will find a lot of guys who are now in their early 20s who are named Dani.

I actually had his name on my Ajax shirt in his second season, not because he was my favorite player (Litmanen was in his first season and after that Laudrup) but because I got the shirt as a birthday present from a friend who was Portuguese. Guy was incredibly talented, but couldn't handle city life at all, was out almost every night etc...still when he wanted to he could change a game on his own

The way you told this story is fantastic. Extremely well-done and well written. Nice one!

I only know him because back in the day I found him on PES and recruited him for my Master League team. He was pretty good in the game and I always wondered why I never saw him play nor heard anything about him in real life. Finally, after so many years, I got to know the reason why + a lot more about how good he actually must have been. So thanks a lot for making this episode, I really enjoyed it!

I was so impressed with him when came to Ajax. He was incredibly technical and a real super talent. Such a same how it ended. He was notorious for having pizza's and girls over at his house. Glad to see he's happy these days working as a commentator.

Had life served on a platter, he didn’t need to play football

He enjoyed clubbing, parties and was always surrounded by beautiful girls. I saw that back in the 90s in Lisbon, being a professional is not for everyone, but he could be one of the best if he really wanted.

A great mini documentary and I'm looking forward to watching more of your work. You have a talent for telling a story in enough depth to learn something new and interesting and enough brevity to maintain interest. Well done.

Giving it a half arsed effort he managed to become pro and play for Ajax. Nice work!

Imagine Dani had the same work ethic like Cristiano Ronaldo..

I remember of him. Hi was a big talent in Ajax, but eventually he neve became a big player. He had some good matches, but he never was good for the whole season. I didn't know that he hated football. Thanks this video!!

Dani was an amazing player, I thought he was going to be the greatest of all time (Portugal always had great talent but this guy was better). However he also enjoyed too many other things and girls were crazy for him. I guess he had a great life!

A good episode. I always did wonder what made him pack it in at 27. Talented player, for sure

He is the counterpart of Ronaldinho. Different upbringing, socioeconomic context and attractiveness level. One was able to succeed and become a legend yet they had the same ending. My point is that both extremes, poor and rich, in the upbringing of a person can be bad. Balance is key.

Top episode! Loved every minute, thank you very much.

Ronaldo grew up in a struggle whilst Dani was born with a silver spoon when push comes to shove Dani just wasn't hungry enough.

The first time I watched Dani play I was thrilled by his immense talent and talent to make scoring easy. I always looked forward to seeing him in the Portuguese National Team, unfortunately his career just plummeted like a shot jet fighter.

Really interesting, surprised me that I had never heard of him nor his story, great video!

My first time to hear about him, What a good looking guy and an amazing footballer too.

most people dont seem to realise a lot of footballers arent interested in football, its just a job they are good at and trained for

Story reminds me of my cousin.. Absolutely gifted footballer and was the guy that all the local clubs tried to hijack.. This was back in the 90's in Ireland .. But I can remember one club actually offering to pay the insurance in his car for a year if he joined..That was a big deal, as nobody got anything for joining clubs then.. You were lucky to play at all and that was that.. That same year if I remember correctly he got called for trials to the Irish national team... I met him a week after the trials and asked him how he got on, he said I'm not playing anymore... Went off and did a plastering apprenticeship... His brother told me, he just wanted to play a bit of football but didn't want all the phonecalls and people chasing him down kinda thing... I've never seen him with a football since.. I've never even asked him anything about it..

2:35 i remember that free kick. Was a cheeky distraction. You can see it if you look closely

Just how good was Robbie Keane actually? To score 60+ goals for Ireland and play for inter Milan and Liverpool among others is incredible.

i always feel that players like this’ lack of care makes them just much more likeable

Loved this documentary episode. Great job.

That he had a Metallica poster on his bedroom wall has got my seal of approval!! \m/

Dani's football career : the perfect cautionary tale.

New to your channel I love documentarys like this you've got yourself a new sub

Fabulously narrated. Well done!

Thoughtbyou were going to mention that time Dutch police came to his house and seized his amplifier and speakers because he was throwing party's that went well over the established by regulation about noise in the Netherlands. He basically built a disco at his place.

I vaguely remember as a kid the buzz about Dani at West Ham but in England at least we didn't really hear too much about him after he left so I'm interested to watch this and see what he did next. Another guy who was talented and handsome but whose career didn't really live up to expectations: Yoann Gourcuff. Scored one of The Great solo goals and got compared to Zidane. Was he too shy to succeed at Milan and for France? Too arrogant? Just injury prone? Might be a video idea down the line.

Thank you for sharing those really interesting these are the kind of stories that a lot of reporters don't expose

Super delivering always. Thanks man

I know he was an ugly brute anyway but you did Dowie dirty there😂

i remember watching him in the Under 20 world cup when they did that free kick routine where him and his team mate pushed eachother as if they were arguing and then crossed it for the goal!

Having watched the video, i feel it played out as it had to. He's not the first footballer to love partying and he was young when he found fame. He put the required effort and dropped down to the 2nd division, something that no star would choose to do. If Athletico treated him as he claims, I can't blame him much for giving up on the sport. Unlike most, he had other options and could be just as well off without the sport that had probably turned toxic for him. Would be cool if he'd take part in charity matches like soccer aid or so

Amazing video , kept me to the end.I’m also a huge football fan but didn’t know anything about Dany except that Redknapp comment

Im happy to have seen him play. Grtz from Amsterdam

Simple he needed someone like sir Alex to put him in his place to get the most out of him

Interesting story. Thank You for bringing it up.

Man, I had to subscribe after this video and leave a comment. I love your content and your accent is lovely! Keep going brother!

This dude has everything, grew up wealthy, good looking, and talent.

man, imagine having life handed to you on a silver platter; money, looks, talent, ability to change games on your own, never out of options to stay in and around success, the best players to have ever played the game recognising you as something special but yet after all that, you just throw it away.. you never know how good you've got it until it's taken away from you but by then it's too late. can't say i'm a fan of people like that but also can't deny i probably would be the same, maybe i wouldn't, maybe the life i'm currently living has made me more appreciative of the things i have - and the things i don't have. the life he has lived has definitely made him less appreciative of the things he has/had in his life.

And then there's other young talent who love the sport and can't even be signed because they are either poor or have never been scouted, players who actually deserve to be in professional football.

Dani played his first season for Ajax in my first season as an Ajax fan! I was always excited about him playing for the Dutch giants! But I was ok with him leaving as media was exposing his escapades as a kid I fell for it and frowned upon him. Thank you so much for uploading this

Honestly it reminds me a bit of Carlos Vela. He Had so much talent. But somewhere, somehow his passion for the sport vanished. He was considered a wonderkid too in Mexico but his love for the sport is gone and he treats more like a 9-5 job now

I remember him being a "wonderkid" if you like, back in the day, with a reportedly bad attitude - I also remember cursing at him when he scored, if I remember right 2 headers against us in the champions league. not a player you remember for his heading ability, but then again apparently that didn't matter on a Champions league night some 25 years ago.

as long as he's truly happy now and not living in regret, i think it was nice having him around

a fantastic talent, techinically brilliant, im proud he played for ajax

01:39 Nuno Guômes. Northern Portuguese accent. Love it

Dani grew up in Oeiras in a middle class família, his mother was a teacher… the hell you are talking about?!?!?

1st time ever hearing of this guy. Thanx for the introduction.

This was a brilliant post! I really enjoyed this and just subscribed 😎👍👍

Rich,talented guy gets to have a career in professional sport. Quits when it gets hard. OK

Dani já merecia um bio video destes. Era um fenómeno, incrivelmente talentoso. You have a new subscriber. Thank you. Hey! As long as he is happy now.

Love the content! You have a new fan from USA. Would love a future video on Jorge ‘el mágico’ González

Very nice. So beautiful narrated. Very sweet selection of words.

Dani is a football commentator now.. I didnt knew he was such a good player

O sotaque portugues se nota👀. Let's go

I enjoyed that, very interesting.. thanks 👍 subbed

Interesting story and well told - thanks for the vid

I was looking at a training session by Ajax and Dani almost run me over, quickly saying sorry to me. He sprinted to the trainings field that was fenced off to be save for the screaming girls.

The Portuguese Paul Gascoigne. Like the great SAF once said, He would love to coach him and who knows how great he could have been.

Dani is a great person. He was really at his place in Amsterdam with AFC Ajax. Awesome player.

I'm remember see Dani in Kapital disco in Lisboa at Thursday and we will play by Ajax at Saturday...

Kaka was another player who had a similar background to Dani. Born into a wealthy family, had good looks and outrageous footballing ability but his personality and work ethic was the complete opposite of Dani.

When I thought Harry redknapp had said it all he says that 😂🤣

My new favourite KZfaq channel subscribed from Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

That mid-90s to early 2000s was a joy to watch gifted plyrs on the same Ajax team - Dani,Litmanen & the Laudrup brothers.'Magic'

Dani had everything to be one the greatest…except motivation and dedication.

All in all, Dani was really good. He was only undone by the people's HUGE EXPECTATIONS of him. To me he did well. Only lacked motivation due to his background.

Glad I stumbled upon this channel

There's a recently released podcast where Dani explains what made him get tired of Football. I understand that being young guy alone in a foreign country it's not for everyone to enjoy and most talent fail to reach full potential. In all aspects he was a family man who never wanted to leave Portugal and his family, never enjoyed fame and the system was rigged, therefore he never fully took profit of his own. His mother illness (then she passed away) made him put football on hold. When he realized that being with his family was the source of his happiness, he never considered playing again. Now in my eyes, a man that is aware of his values and sticks to them, is a made man.