Every year, there are new additions to the list of football prodigies that failed to make it as professional footballers. Many of these young players that struggled, did so due to personal issues and reasons.

For any player that seeks to make it professionally, learning from these ex-football prodigies will keep you from making similar mistakes and ending your career early.

Jack Barlow

It was recently reported that former Hull City player Jack Barlow was arrested after an assault on a man in a pub. Barlow has had a “fall from grace” after being a highly scouted youth player. He joined Hull City at the age f 15 for £100,000 and trialled with both Manchester United and Manchester City. After failing to make it at Hull City, Barlow began playing non-league football and was done at 21.

Santino Quaranta

Before Freddy Adu was considered the biggest thing to come out of American soccer, there was Santino Quaranta. The midfielder, like Adu, was one of the teenage players that was rushed into a fledgeling league that didn’t realise the players were not ready. Quaranta was just 16 when he joined the league becoming the youngster player prior to Adu. Although he had some good seasons early on, Quaranta revealed in 2008 that he had a cocaine and painkiller addiction. Strangely, he seemed to get by all of the drug tests given out by the league. At the end of the 2011 season, Quaranta retired at the age of 27.

Nile Ranger

Nile Ranger was not a great footballer but still had a chance to make it with Newcastle United in his early 20s due to raw talent. However, Ranger’s off the pitch problems kept him from ever being more than a player that got headlines for the wrong reasons. Ranger has been out of football since January 2018 when he was released by Southend United. His biggest transgressions came during his Newcastle United time when he was involved in a robbery. He was also a part of some “acts of violence”. At one point, Ranger was unable to go with Newcastle United on a preseason tour of the United States due to his criminal record.