Ex-Barcelona wonderkid Bojan retires at 32
Ex-Barcelona wonderkid Bojan retires at 32, as man once dubbed ‘the next Lionel Messi’ says he is ‘grateful for everything’ during special ceremony held at Nou Camp
- Krkic revealed the news with Barca president Joan Laporta at the Auditori 1899
- The former striker, 32, was released in December by Japanese side Vissel Kobe
- He spent four seasons with the Catalan giants, scoring 41 goals in 162 games
Ex-Barcelona wonderkid Bojan Krkic has announced his retirement from football aged 32.
Krkic officially revealed the news during a special ceremony with Barcelona president Joan Laporta at the Auditori 1899 of Camp Nou on Thursday.
The former Stoke City striker – who was once compared to Lionel Messi as an upcoming star in the Barcelona academy – was released in December by Japanese side Vissel Kobe.
‘These decisions are not easy. I have been away from home for 12 years and I feel fulfilled professionally,’ he said.
‘I wanted to enjoy the next stage [of my life] closer to my family. It’s not a physical issue. I have had three injuries, but I recovered, I am 100 per cent.
Ex-Barcelona wonderkid Bojan Krkic has announced his retirement from football aged 32
Krkic officially revealed the news during a special ceremony at the Camp Nou on Thursday
‘It is a feeling, it’s the reality. I am more excited about doing other things now than to keep playing football. I am grateful for everything I have experienced.
‘I have played for Barcelona, I’ve played with great players, I have won trophies and I have played in other leagues. But I am ready to start new things now.’
The son of a Serbian footballer whose own career ended in Spain, Bojan was inducted into Barcelona’s world-famous academy at the age of nine.
Bojan made his first-team debut for Barcelona in 2007 at the age of 17 years and 19 days, breaking Messi’s team record for youngest player to feature in a La Liga match.
He spent four seasons with the Barcelona first-team, scoring 41 goals in 162 games before he was sold to Roma in 2011.
His other European stops before joining Stoke City in 2014 included loans with AC Milan and Ajax.
The Spaniard was released by the Potters in 2019 and played 85 times for Stoke, scoring 16 goals.
During his time as a player, Krkic won two Champions Leagues, three LaLigas, a Club World Cup, an Eredivisie medal, Canadian Cup, Copa Del Rey and the UEFA Supercup.
Barca starlet Ansu Fati has come in for criticism due to a number of poor performances this season, but Bojan admitted in February that he underwent similar issues.
‘There is a huge difference in treatment between the illusion that is generated at first, when all things go head-on, with respect to the moments in which the things go awry, due to injury or for any other reason,’ he said.
The striker was once compared to Lionel Messi as an upcoming star in the Barcelona academy
The Spaniard was released by the Potters in 2019 where he played 85 times, scoring 16 goals
‘You go from being a person to being a character. When I was 17-years-old, I had to compete against the label of the ‘new Messi’.
‘Learn to get away from these external labels and to be aware of what your limits are and to accept them.
‘It is difficult to manage it. The good thing about you at that moment is that you are not aware of what you are generating.
‘You are fulfilling a childhood dream. I was not aware of the magnitude of that scenario that I was entering at the age of 17.’
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