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Over the years, Ghana has developed some of the most famous talents in soccer. From two-time Premier League winner Michael Essien to Asamoah Gyan, Kwadwo Asamoah, Thomas Partey and Tony Yeboah, the African country has long been home to numerous world-class footballers.
Yet for all his talents, Kevin-Prince Boateng will go on to be one of the most dissatisfied prospects in Ghanaian football. So, let’s take a look at the 33-year-old’s career and consider what it could have been.
A trophy winning race without stability
Along with their brother Jerome, the Boateng brothers have won almost everything in world football between them. However, unlike the Champions League-winning defender, the 33-year-old playmaker can look back on his career with regret.
To date, throughout his 16-year professional career, Boateng has played for 12 different teams. While this isn’t necessarily negative, it does indicate that the West Berlin-born midfielder struggled to prevail at any club for an extended period.
In defense of Boateng, he has won La Liga and Serie A titles during his career. On second thought, the 33-year-old will likely be remembered for his contributions to AC Milan between 2010 and 2013.
Including his six-month return to the San Siro in January 2016, Boateng scored 18 goals in 114 appearances for the Rossoneri, according to Transfermarkt. In addition, the Ghanaian also provided 16 assists in his 7,293 minutes with Milan.
After passing through Italy, Boateng would go on to play in Las Palmas, Eintracht Frankfurt and Sassuolo. In 2019, however, he would complete one of the strangest moves in football, joining the Barcelona loan in January 2019.
This transfer made the now 33-year-old the first Ghanaian to play for the Catalan club. In addition, he was also part of the Barça squad that won the League for the last time. Having lost the title last season, Ronald Koeman’s team is now priced at 7/4 in soccer betting to win the Spanish league in 2020-21.
The ability to be one of the best of the time
In Massimiliano Allegri’s Milan, Boateng was able to reach the heights alongside names like Alexandre Pato, Robinho, Thiago Silva and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Perhaps most memorably, Rossoneri fans will remember the Ghanaian’s audacious solo goal against Barcelona in the 2011/12 Champions League campaign.
The goal showed the undeniable talent that Boateng possessed. At his peak, he had all the attributes necessary to be one of the best midfielders in the world. With pace, passing, power, shooting and speed, there was very little Boateng couldn’t do in Allegri’s Milan squad.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cn7BznSa__w
Unfortunately for Boateng, his stint at the San Siro saw the start of his injury problems, many of which were muscle problems. This misfortune continued when he moved to Schalke, before affecting his playing time in both Las Palmas and Sassuolo.
In addition to injuries, Boateng himself attributes his unique career path to a lack of effort, according to the official Bundesliga website. The 33-year-old believes he could have played for Real Madrid, but his application hampered his progress.
A race full of “What if …?”
Ultimately, regardless of his troubled career, Boateng will go on to be one of the most talented players of the last decade. While individual and team accolades may not support this, few players have possessed his world-class skills in recent years.
As hindsight will generally always lead to questions, especially around the 33-year-old’s career, it should not be forgotten that he is a two-time league winner and one of the most entertaining playmakers of the day.
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