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28-year-old footballer John Bostock’s history is full of twists and turns, leading him from almost joining Barcelona at the age of 14 to being without a club 14 years later. Once labeled a wonderful kid, he caught the attention of clubs around the world, including some of the most decorated.
“Name the club, they interested me. Barcelona, Real Madrid, Inter, Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, the who’s who of European football,” Bostock told BBC Sport.
The young Englishman followed Barcelona, as his idol Ronaldinho played there at that time.
“As long as I can remember I wanted to be the best player in the world and win the Ballon d’Or. I saw Ronaldinho win these trophies and I thought he wanted to be that guy,” Bostock admitted.
“I put my identity on it and thought if I didn’t make it, it was a failure.”
In the end, the move never happened because his family couldn’t afford to move to another country, which led him to stay in London.
Starting at Crystal Palace and joining Tottenham
Bostock joined his childhood club Crystal Palace at the age of five, immediately showing off his talent, physical evolution, and rocket in his left foot.
Training with the first team at just 15 years old, he became the youngest player in the club, which remains a record to this day.
“I remember I was too young to change into the same dressing room as my colleagues because I was still underage,” Bostock recalls.
“I think I walked in for the last 20 minutes, it was like ‘wow!’ I’ve watched this team play for years, sitting in the stands with my bag of candy, it was a surreal moment, one that I will never forget. “
Just a year later, he joined Tottenham on a two million euro transfer, although he remembers that he did not know what was happening, only following the advice of his family and his agent.
“My family and my agent thought the best thing for me was to go to Tottenham,” Bostock said.
“The plan, the set-up, the players I would train with, they thought it would be better for my development, if I’m honest, I really had no voice. I was 15 years old, I saw paper on the table and they told me to sign it.”
What he wasn’t expecting at the time was the backlash at the time, including from Crystal Palace president Simon Jordan as fans accused him of moving for money.
“They just see a subjective situation and think ‘he’s chasing the money,’ he would get death threats, they wrote things like ‘I’m going to do this when I see him on the streets,'” Bostock reflected. .
Eleven clubs in 11 years
Bostock made his Tottenham debut at age 16 against Dinamo Zagreb in the UEFA Cup, but never achieved a place in the team, competing with players such as Luka Modric and Gareth Bale, as well as other internationals.
After struggling to establish himself, the club advised him to move to play for the club’s youth team.
“At the time it didn’t feel bigger than the Palace, but it was a club of a different size,” Bostock said, looking back.
“You look at the players who played ahead of me: a future Ballon d’Or winner in Luka Modric and there was Gareth Bale.”
He spent time on loan at clubs like Brentford, Hull City, Sheffield Wednesday, Swindon Town and Toronto FC, before leaving for free in 2013.
He then joined Royal Antwerp in Belgium, where he stayed for only one season, before joining OH Leuven for two years, then moving to Lens, Bursaspor and Toulouse before returning to England.
He returned to Nottingham Forest and Bostock even now admits that he considered retiring.
“Before you know it, you start asking yourself ‘well, am I really that good? Am I really such an amazing player?’ Then you start to see the opinions that people have about you – it’s a dangerous spiral for anyone, especially in sports, once you start questioning yourself, “Bostock recalls.
In those moments, Bostock confesses that his best support came from those around him.
“I have been married for 10 years and she has been my best friend, my help, my champion, she has believed in me sometimes more than I have believed in me,” admits Bostock, indicating their struggles.
Looking back now, he admits that he would have done things differently.
“I regret it, maybe the great regret was not even having joined Barcelona but having left the Palace,” he said.
“I think that’s part of life, knowing that you could have made a better decision. But I wasn’t really in a place to make those decisions. I had people making them for me and I really know they had my best interest at heart. .
“It’s been an uncomfortable ride, but it probably wouldn’t change.”
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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