Back in 2007, World Soccer Magazine made a list of the 50 most exciting teenagers on the planet. If you look closely at the list, you'll see some very interesting names like Mesut Ozil, Juan Mata, Toni Kroos, Karim Benzema, Angel Di Maria, Sergio Aguero, and Gareth Bale. 

At the number one spot on the list back then, the player who was considered better than all these legends was none other than Saddick Adams. Trust me, I know what you're thinking: who is Saddick Adams? Not many of you might know him now, but back then, the promising center forward was the most impressive young talent on the African continent.

However, his story is one of the most interesting and seemingly unlucky ones, from impressing on the world stage to suddenly dealing with legal issues and being held back by FIFA, his club, and his family, let's look at exactly what happened to Saddick Adams.

In the South Korea 2007 FIFA Under-17 World Cup, Ghana shocked the world when they knocked out favorites Brazil in the round of 16 and almost narrowly beat Spain and Germany, resulting in a surprising fourth-place finish for a team that everyone thought was relatively weak. 

The reason for this was none other than their lightning-fast center forward, Saddick Adams.

Adams shined in Ghana's U-17 squad. His performances, especially against Spain, impressed even the managers and staff. After all, he was doing incredibly well even compared to La Liga's best young prospects. 

Saddick possessed an incredible amount of speed, technique, and goal-scoring skills that set him apart from his peers at a very young age. His talent was undeniable, and it didn't take long for him to attract attention.

Around the early 2000s, strong and physical strikers and forwards were very popular. Players like Ronaldo, Adriano, Van Nistelrooy, Drogba, and Ibrahimovic dominated the scene. That may be why Saddick was ranked the number one most exciting footballer in the world back then. He even said, "I couldn't believe I was chosen among the 50 most exciting in the world, including some big names. My country even came forth in the competition."

At that young age and fitting into that archetype before scouts from top European clubs recognized Saddick's immense potential, then one day, shortly after the tournament, out of nowhere, he got a call from Atletico Madrid. The young Saddick had no idea just how serious they were about their interest and still felt happy about the call but never expected too much out of it.

The next day, Atletico Madrid representatives arrived in Ghana and offered Sadiq a contract. Then, within three days, Saddick Adams was able to obtain a Spanish visa and was on his way to Madrid. Imagine a guy from Ghana, where opportunities in the football infrastructure itself are severely lacking, being given the life-changing opportunity to sign with one of the most elite clubs in the world.

However, since he was underage, FIFA prevented Saddick Adams from fully signing, so Atletico Madrid had no choice but to sign him for the reserve team only. But at the moment, Saddick couldn't have cared less because once he got to Spain, he would go on to score nine goals in 22 appearances for Atletico Madrid B, with an injustice ban of a few months.

However, this was when things would start to drastically go downhill. Saddick Adams would meet the expectations of Atletico Madrid, so they decided to move him up to train with their first team. In his words, "It was the best moment of my life." Before their departure, Aguero and Diego Forlan were around, and I got the opportunity to play a cup match with them and also joined a few first-team training sessions. I watched all these stars on TV when I was younger, so to train with them was a real dream come true moment for me."
 
Just as Atletico Madrid was preparing to transition Saddick into the first team as he was beginning to gain traction, FIFA would suddenly step back in. An issue with Atletico Madrid's contract soon emerged, and ultimately, FIFA would hand the 18-year-old Saddick Adams a four-month ban, ultimately running his contract out and forcing him to move back and stay in Africa.

Then, on top of that, he was charged a hundred and sixty thousand Tunisian dinars or roughly around 50,000 US Dollars, which is more money than he ever made with any club or academy in his home country. The young Saddick, who had to work extremely hard in an already difficult circumstance, just had the best opportunity of his life ripped away by FIFA. Ultimately, FIFA's decision was a devastating blow to the young Ghanaian's dreams and aspirations.

FIFA let a Tunisian club take advantage of one of Africa's brightest young prospects without even paying him a decent wage. And after everything was said and done, Saddick was in his early 20s with no real experience as he had to play in a league that many had no respect for. And to make it worse, Saddick would try his luck in a disturbing league where, in his words, "My experience in Serbia is the worst experience of my life. That was the worst decision of my career, and I still regret it. I lived in hell because of racism."

It was horrible to live this experience for a young African like me. It's not an excuse for me, but being black, being alone, and without a family in a foreign country is sometimes very difficult. A white man does not necessarily realize that next to him there is a black teammate who suffers. I thought I had to be strong to help my family, especially financially, but I was happy to leave Serbia”. This decision to leave Eastern Europe only puts Adams further and further from the spotlight.