Once labeled as the "next Pele" after turning pro at age 14, the American has been a bust. But now he's looking to turn around his career with the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the NASL.
EXCLUSIVE
Freddy Adu was supposed to be Lionel Messi before there was a Lionel Messi.
That’s the best way to describe the level of ridiculous hype that surrounded Adu when he began his professional career a dozen years ago at the age of 14. An MLS-driven marketing machine proclaimed him a soccer savior, and the magazine covers and TV commercials alongside Pele helped make him a household name before he ever became a professional starter.