Bojan Krkic ended his football career on Thursday at the age of 32. The Spaniard was considered a sensational talent in his youth, but was never really able to live up to that promise. In the 2013/2014 season he came out on a rental basis for Ajax.
Bojan started his career at FC Barcelona, where he made his debut in the first team at the age of sixteen. In recent years, the right-footed striker played for Vissel Kobe in Japan. He played one international match for the Spanish national team in 2008.
“I hereby say goodbye to my time as a professional footballer,” said Bojan at a specially arranged meeting at his old club FC Barcelona. “I am infinitely grateful for this period.”
“But I have been away from home for 12 years now and have achieved what I want to achieve. I felt it was time to return to my family. Now is the time to enter a new phase of my life.”
Sky-high expectations
Bojan is the son of a Serbian father and a Spanish mother. He was a very promising youth player of FC Barcelona, in a period when the Catalan club dominated in Europe.
The technical and quick attacker was considered by many to be a child prodigy. The media saw in him a new Lionel Messi, who played at Barça since 2003. Bojan made his debut on April 23, 2007 in the main squad of ‘Blaugrana’.
In the first years of his professional career, Bojan still seemed to be an international top football player. He played four seasons for FC Barcelona and played 104 matches. He was then sold to AS Roma, who loaned him to AC Milan a year later.
De Boer brought Bojan to Ajax
The draft came in. Bojan returned to FC Barcelona, but never played for the Catalan top club again. In 2013, coach Frank de Boer brought the then 22-year-old attacker to Ajax on a rental basis. Bojan made his debut in the Johan Cruijff Scale (3-2 win over AZ) for the Amsterdam club.
Bojan also failed to meet the sky-high expectations at Ajax – partly due to two months of injuries. He had his say in winning the league title, but returned to Barcelona at the end of the season.
After that, the clubs for which Bojan played became less and less appealing. Via Stoke City, Mainz 05, Alavés and CF Montréal he ended up in Japan. At Vissel Kobe he finally ended his career at the age of 32.
