It’s really crazy, you have to think how much has to go right for a player to be at the top. There were so many players that we’re better than Messi at a young age but none of them could ever compare to what Messi has become. Also, think about how many didn’t make it, some probably played another sport, another hobby, there could be a a homeless guy out there right now that could’ve been the best player ever. It’s just so crazy to think about the domino effect.

Putting a young man under the pressure of calling him the next Messi is pretty much as dangerous as anxiety itself. I feel so bad for Bojan. I don’t know why nobody stood up for him to teach him how to deal with the pressure. He had so many great players to look up to and learn from. He had it all, everybody cheered for the next Messi, but nobody cared for Bojan.

This is so heartbreaking. When I was a kid (15), I played for the 3rd and 2nd division of a Mexican club. I always felt like I could've done better but Football is a merciless place for kids. I was an outcast with no friends a constant pressure from the coaches to perform. Feelin alone and with no friends, I barely had any chance to perform as I used to in other clubs and eventually broke down. Didn't feel the drive to push myself further with all the bullying and harassment from teammates and coaches alike, I eventually had a knee injury and left football for good, 7 months before my sub17 debut. Never tried to go back after that.

"He is better than messi" That's already pressure in itself 💯

Shame, I cannot imagine pressure he coped with...Bojan was an artist! Football become serious business in his era - he burned out before he had a chance to show all the talent . Thank you for shading a light on his latter carrier - it was such surprise anybody remembered his plays!

Bojan is actually Messi’s distant cousin, common mistake people make is to call them first/blood cousins.

he was my favorite player after messi at barcelona. I was so bummed when he left. Thanks for the insights. Didn't know his story up to this day.

The best evidence of his talent was the fact Cruijff wanted him to sign for Ajax...

I remember him reaching 97 overall in fifa 08 manager mode along with Giovani Dos Santos. Crazy!

Bojan was another victim of media hype

Always love the way he played in Barcelona. Not so good a football career for him but he could end up a great coach. Wish him all the best. Bojan 💯💯💯❤️

This is sad I have anxiety aswell, I remember he was fantastic at stoke, then he just vanished tho I wish him all the best 💯

I saw a lot matches of Bojan, he was great in 2007/2008, but the constant comparison with Messi hurt a lot his career.

*Just how GOOD was Diego Forlán Actually? Like for him to see it.*

Bojan peaked really young but he was a joy to watch at a young age & then even at Stoke. The only bad move imo was Roma for him but he was a great player. He’s had a better career than most players. As someone who suffers anxiety & depression I understand how he was feeling and how it could hamper his career especially with external pressures.

I remember the first time i seen him play. Came on as a sub in the ucl. Genuinely thought him and pato would take over from messi and ronaldo.

I didn't know this channel before now, but with what you've given me in this video, I just had to subscribe! You filled a hole that I had given up on filling... The hole of Bojan. Thank you so much!! 🙏 I didn't even know he was that good at such a young age. Never watched him play for Spain too. I was just in love with how he played at Barça, he and little Giovanni...but little by little, they just fizzled away. Sad. I do hope he finds fulfilment and happiness where he is now.

At least he's got to play with big clubs and big players and he won everything in club football....

Love these videos. Keep up the good work

I tell my friends about ur videos all the time, ur videos are so relaxing thank you so much. At the end of world cup we need a video on benzema, vardy and mahrez. But for now a video of lampard owen and gerard would be great

Poor guy. Never call anyone the next Messi. It will jinx him. There's not going to be another Messi. Remember. The GOAT, Greatest of ALL Time.

honestly, those perez guys who are the ancestors of both Messi and Bojan 4 generations back... they had something in their genes

Great content man keep up love ur vids

I always wondered what happened to Bojan Krkic. Thanks for sharing this. Miss him in Barcelona team. Anxiety is something not many understand. Hope he is doing better now.

I was mesmerized by this youngstar at the U17 W/cup in Korea. I was the happiest person when he received his second yellow in the semis. It meant no one was stopping we Nigerians from our 3rd U17 W/cup triumph

Shows very well how little regard there is for the players these days and their health... Just big gains for the clubs, until the next "what ever" arrives... And of course the toxic "sports press" all over the world doing their best to ruin young kids or who ever they think is worth something to draw clicks

Thank you for making this! I will never forget watching Bojan play

I've always had anxiety as long as I could remember .It was never treated . As the years go by seeing my close friends became doctors, professor being successful while I remain trapped by my mind! Is utterly hard.

the power of pressure and how it could effect anyone if it's not dealt with properly i think it would've turned out diffrently if he had someone to help him instead of getting trashed by the media and made him suffer more.

He probably could have beaten Messi, But he couldn't beat his own head. Too bad people weren't understanding off his situation.

Bojan was an impressive player! Respect for what he did at a young age. No one looked to protect his development, he was so good they fed them to the wolves at a very young age. Messi had his dad by his side to protect him. Victor Vasquez was also better than Messi as well during the class of 1987 la Masía.

this same thing is going on with ansu fati right now , I hope ansu looks at this and get his head right and save himself because what happened to bojan is very heart breaking.

You’re awesome brother! Really enjoy your videos and can see the effort you put in 🙏🏾

Your introduction was amazing 👏🏿

In Stoke city he was playing mainly as a midfielder and sometimes breaks forward in suprise and counter attacks. It seems like playing behind took the pressure off him but after the injury, Stoke City was in danger of falling to the second league so they chose to bar hin aside for defencive and aggressive formation. Not trusting Bojan was a mistake, without his help Stoke fell to the second league and never really recovrred. Sadly despite the fact he was finally shining the injury broke him for good.

Great video, learned a lot about a talented player that I barely knew.... I have suggestion for a video, do the story of Alexandre Pato

Poor kid. I always wondered what happened to him. This makes me really sad. Story's full of insight, thank you.

We always see players step into the field score goals or don't score but never know what kind of a life or mental issues they deal with off the pitch. People have no patience or sympathy and want players to score all the time. Human is not a machine and Bojan was no exception. He clearly suffered from mental issues and it is very sad to see such talent's career ended up this way but to me, he created a lot of memories and it is impossible to forget him and Messi when they were so young and dazzling the world. Life goes on. I wish him all the best ❤.

Bojan Krkic was outstanding kid... very similar to Messi's style. Real wonderkid but with so many pressure. Not just comparison with Messi, there were pressure whether he will play for Serbia or Spain.. and many more. So sad that he didn't show the world what he could become.

Bojan had a good career! I remember reading an interview where he said he ‘fell back in love with football’ at Stoke City which made me happy. Sure it’s not Barcelona, but he was a good player for them

He was a wonderkid at Barca I remember but then he really spiraled away. It's tough when people put these big labels on young players & expect way too much. They should let them grow their way & be their own player. I had no idea he was still playing albeit not that much it seems. So sad what pressure does to so many talented players.

I watched all these la masia players growing up ... these reporters should stop trying to sell news with lies. None of these players were close to messi. They all had great potencial. But messi stood out with his relentless pursuit to greatness.

great video bro

Pressure is a helluva drug! It's all about how one responds to pressure that makes one Messi and another just another football player.

Greetings from Los Angeles, Love your videos! If I could recommend players to do videos on; Jorge Campos (the goalkeeper/forward from Mexico), Lev Yashin (Russia), Carlos Salcido (PSV, a player who began playing at 18)

7:30 even Ronaldinho himself can't believe

Still patiently waiting for a video of Ganso! A video of Denilson (Real Betis) would also be great to see.

the pressure explained at around @9:00 is like when you trashtalk your opponents too much and bring the best out of them against you and then cant back it up and feels exponentially embarrassed by all the extra expectations added by all the fake hype that you have to carry forever even if u succeed, the hate only gets bigger after each steps that you have to overcome to prove them wrong, until u fail and get cancelled by social pressure

I love your storytelling ability

I can definitely relate to these feeling alot, i used to deal with it at a very young age, but can i just say, what a coincidence how he was his cousin, that is just insane.

I’ve suffered from mental illness horrifically, needed this one

there's nothing wrong with your voice...keep giving us gold🙌🏽

He was good but he was never better than Messi. Messi at 17,18 and 19 had accomplished more than Bojan ever did tbh

I've said this often, there are many people in the world who are more skilled than ronaldo or messi but they're either not commited or are unable to take the pressure or both.

At least he could do it on a cold night in Stoke.

He was my hero at ac milan , he played well but every barca player that play well with milan will always back to barca

I remember when he was with Spain 21 he was ahead of his class… but I didn’t see him as extraordinary or anything to see.. messi I first saw him in the 2006 World Cup and I felt something special about him.

He was a machine this kid. An absolute gun player. Hope he's doing well now.

That goal he scored against Ghana in the semifinals of the 2007 U17 World Cup broke Ghanaian heart’s to this day but that doesn’t take away the quality of a player he was. I have been asking myself where he is until I saw this video, sad to battles people fight without us knowing.

Great talented player Mentally not ready for the challenge

very late to this video, but it’s crazy how the pressure took down Bojan. He was destined to be great, but stress is next level. it’s weird to think about how Bojan could’ve been the best played in the world if he stayed in Barcelona, played for the Spanish national team. I really do wish that none of this happened, that Bojan didn’t have such stress and anxiety, it would’ve been awesome to see what he could’ve reached if it wasn’t for his mental.

No way! He couldn't have been better than Messi! #GodblessNigeria

Pep Guadiola. Is a dream and talent killer. Samuel Etto and Yaya had hard spirit and Guadiola couldn't destroy them.

What I learned from this video is to be very careful of external validation and also know that the media is vile and will say a lot of bad things so develop a thick skin, do your best and seek more of internal validation from yourself.

Wow. Im happy for him. I loved him at Barca we saw joy in his eyes!

as a stoke fan i can confirm he is a great player

you should do a review on Asier Illarramendi could have been the next Xabi Alonso

Could have done better with the title imo.... Great video regardless !!!

There were talents back then that todays world would idolize over like Pedri or Gavi but they were all getting outshined by Messi

It means that their family (Messi and Bojan) have talent in football, but also have disabilities.

Great vids. @Daily Dose Of Football Are you same guy who runs the Dame Pesos youtube channel?

I really did sée him to bé great. Ohh well, hé played thé game hé loved in his own way, hé dealt with his depression almost single handedly, thé way i sée it, BOJAN is a great man who never gave up.✊🏽⚽

Bojan krkic used to be one of my favourites back in the day

I really loved this kid. I knew that he was going to be another GOAT at Barcelona. DAMN!

Ole ole ole ole bojan bojan wow the goal he scored for stoke against Tottenham has to be 1 of the best I've seen the control the run everything special kid

I spy Mateu Morey at 6:00 Love him, hope he becomes Dortmunds Main rb/rwb for the next decade

I valued this guy too much, I never knew this was what he was passing through 😢😢

hey i remember this guy ! but after some time i lost track of him , thanks for the the video ! edit: the problem with mentally unstable people and the world is that, everyone expects you to behave like everything is ok with you even tho it clearly is not, trust me i had my fair share of mental issues and i can relate now im ok but 2-3 years ago? sweet buttery jesus, too bad normies have such a narrow point of view, but its not their fault really, they cant understand if they dont live it, the real shame is that eventually sooner or later everybody experiences panic attacks or anxiety in general, or even worst, depression, nothing makes you happy you just want everything to end your relationships your friendships your life, just staying inside your house never wanting to go outside,but when you get to that point and you live to tell the tale, you remember how you judged others who had similar issues to yours and you wonder, and you feel like shit, cuz you know what really bothered you and you realize that what you hated, you were doing to others you were ill, you just didnt knew how serious of a situation it was until you lived it, dont let it to reach that point guys, dont judge, dont mock, try and be sympathetic, cuz if that happens to you and someone treats you like you were treating others, you wont like it to say the least. sorry for the long and dark comment, i wish you all very well and take care !

Can you made a video about Michael Laudrup?

Pep Guardiola killed him for sure💔

I Dembele there was a lot of hype around Bojan from 08-11 then even Jeffren. Sometimes the jersey bears too much weight especially on youngsters. Now look at Fati

One of the things that wasn't mentioned is that at the time he was invited to play at the Euros for Spain, he was also approached by Serbian FA (he had the right to represent Serbia as well because of his father). It is quite possible that Spanish FA leaked the information about his refusal to put pressure on him to decide for Spain, out of fear that he might accept Serbia's offer. However, that was all but impossible since he firmly rejected it already, and even his father was against that move because of the scandals associated with Serbian football.

Definitely Bojan Krkic and Freddy Adu are the most hilarious “next Messi’s” ive ever seen

First to watch my best you tuber

Who felt disturbed by pressure after pressure during his career, that is according to the expectations of the media, but the results he could not reach these expectations, excessive anxiety made his career dim as a result of always being compared to other players, try to be himself, surely his career will not be like that, the problem was injuries and injuries hampered his Career somewhat as well.

As a realistic timeline guide to when this linkage began.. it was roughly 30 years after Napoleon ruled Spain.

Belize central america I'm from and I'm a Real Madrid fan forever!! I always like Bojan style although he was a rival!! Best wishes to him!!

Just like me, I dropped out of school in 12th grade because of severe social anxiety and that has made my life astray. Mental health is crucial for success

Bojan , one of the most talented that masia had produced , realy admired the

The 2 best players in our generation were also under immense pressure. What messi and Ronaldo did will never be matched

He's reminiscent of M.Owen .. Both burned out before reach their 30s. What most crazy is, never expect him to be a distant cousin to Messi.

they played together in barcelona for some time and no, he wasn't better than messi, but he was a great talent (maybe not a phenomenon..? a little bit overrated). i saw him at Roma too, he had some problems. also imo he was quite lacking on the physical side of football. it's a shame that anxiety got the best of him. but he ended up having a good professional career, the tragedies are others

Bojan was 1 goal away to become a superstar, it was a game against Inter, a bad called offside, it was all downhill from that point onwards. And well, there's also a huge problem, a problem that still to this day persist, if you have no contacts with Catalonian plutocracy, you're pretty much screwed at the FC Barcelona. Anxiety had very little to do with all the course of events that followed that nullified goal. Corruption is rampant, and you could see it when people like Pique, Busquets and Alba manage to keep their roles. Because no, they aren't by any chance at the same level they once were. That alongside with extreme coercion from UEFA, FIFA and many elite Superclubs against Barça, was what cemented the position that has the club in this abyss, what justified all of it. Players sold to Barça at hyperinflated prices, UEFA punishing the club without signups for things others were and are still doing to this day (of course unpunished at all), FIFA effectively forcing players to play with their national teams, entire leagues being rescued and backed up by entire countries financial system not to mention the state backed clubs. Messi is an abnormality, a huge one that was even more rare with people like Xavi and Iniesta being able to play at the same time on the same pitch and for the same club, the whole thing that was made in order to "level up" the competition, including the media fueling other's career is just the icing of the cake. Just now I'm starting to see good stuff, after 10 years. Thanks for the video!

I just hope fans don't destroy Mbape's career because of the high expectations of he moves to Madrid

Not Better than messi, but surely a generational talent like his cousin

Cruz Azul fan here Search the name Maxi Biancucchi He was sold to us as Messis cousin 😂💯

The only thing this means is that if you’re related to Messi you’ll be a pro and that’s good to know considering he has 3 sons

This man went to Rome with an anxiety problem🤣🤣🤣

Bojan was something else

Can you please do one on Alan Halalovic...I remember watching him play for Barca B and was so excited to see the potential in the kid. Sadly he just fell out of the picture.