'Next Messi' Bojan Learned, Suffered in Itinerant Career

Former Barcelona prodigy Bojan Krkic is now playing in Japan Lillian SUWANRUMPHA AFP/File
Former Barcelona prodigy Bojan Krkic is now playing in Japan Lillian SUWANRUMPHA AFP/File
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'Next Messi' Bojan Learned, Suffered in Itinerant Career

Former Barcelona prodigy Bojan Krkic is now playing in Japan Lillian SUWANRUMPHA AFP/File
Former Barcelona prodigy Bojan Krkic is now playing in Japan Lillian SUWANRUMPHA AFP/File

Former Barcelona prodigy Bojan Krkic is playing in his seventh country and "would not change anything" about a career that started with him labelled the next Lionel Messi and now sees him in Japan.

Many young forwards have been hyped up as the new Messi, but Bojan -- who even had the same floppy hair as the Argentine -- genuinely looked destined for the very top, AFP said.

At 17 years and 19 days, the Spaniard in 2007 became the youngest player to represent Barcelona in La Liga, taking the record previously held by Messi. Bojan went on to score 41 goals in 163 games for the club.

Fast forward and Bojan, now 31, has been reunited with former Barca team-mate Andres Iniesta in Japan after joining Vissel Kobe last summer following stints of varying success in Italy, Holland, England, Germany and Canada.

"All the situations, all the experiences that you have -- not only in football but in life -- everything can be better and everything can be worse," he told AFP of his wandering path since leaving the Camp Nou in 2011.

"I'm playing my 15th year as a professional footballer at a high level in the big leagues, big clubs. I'm really proud of everything that I did."

Bojan said he was "living a dream" after breaking into Barcelona's first team as a teenager and playing alongside club legends such as Ronaldinho, Xavi and, of course, Messi.

He won two Champions League and three Spanish league titles with the club he joined as a nine-year-old, but his time there came to an end when he was sold to Italian side Roma.

He said he "didn't realize that there was a world behind the Barcelona door" until he left the Camp Nou, but he is glad that he broadened his horizons.

"I realized that there are many clubs, many countries, many places to live and learn. Thanks to football, I had this opportunity," he said.

"In every place that I've been, I learn, I enjoy, I suffer. I grow as a person and as a footballer, and I'm really proud of that."

- Premier League success -
Bojan failed to make an impression during stints with Roma, AC Milan and Ajax, but he says he played "probably the best" football of his career during three and a half seasons in England with Stoke City. He is still fondly remembered there.

He helped the Potters finish in the top half of the Premier League every season from 2013 to 2016 under manager Mark Hughes and says the club will "always be in my heart".

"The Premier League is for me the best league in the world, it's where you enjoy real football, proper football," he said.

"In all the stadiums where you play, you can smell the history, you can smell the respect for the sport and for the players."

Now Bojan is in Japan playing alongside Iniesta, who is still going strong despite turning 38 earlier this month.

Bojan says that the World Cup-winning Spain legend has not given him any indication of when he will retire and that the pair "only speak about the moment".

Xavi, a former Barcelona team-mate of both players, returned to the Camp Nou last year to take over as manager.

Bojan believes Iniesta can "do whatever he wants" when he finally hangs up his boots.

"He can be a coach if he wants, he can be a sports director, he can be involved in business," said Bojan.

"I think he can help a lot with the personal side of the players -- the values of the sport that you can learn from a player like him."

As for Bojan himself, he says he has no thoughts of retiring just yet but he is already making plans to move into football administration when he does.

He started a course in sport management when the pandemic began and thinks he would be better suited working as a general manager than a coach on the touchlines.

"For me, I think the most important thing when you sign a player is that you sign a human," he said.

"I like that side, to understand a player, to build a team that can win, but also to build a team that you can help players to grow."



Emma Raducanu and Leylah Fernandez Reach the Semifinals in Washington

Emma Raducanu of the United Kingdom waves to fans after winning a women's singles match against Maria Sakkari of Greece on day 5 of the Mubadala Citi DC Open 2025 at William H Maria Sakkari of Greece .G. FitzGerald Tennis Center on July 25, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Getty Images/AFP)
Emma Raducanu of the United Kingdom waves to fans after winning a women's singles match against Maria Sakkari of Greece on day 5 of the Mubadala Citi DC Open 2025 at William H Maria Sakkari of Greece .G. FitzGerald Tennis Center on July 25, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Emma Raducanu and Leylah Fernandez Reach the Semifinals in Washington

Emma Raducanu of the United Kingdom waves to fans after winning a women's singles match against Maria Sakkari of Greece on day 5 of the Mubadala Citi DC Open 2025 at William H Maria Sakkari of Greece .G. FitzGerald Tennis Center on July 25, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Getty Images/AFP)
Emma Raducanu of the United Kingdom waves to fans after winning a women's singles match against Maria Sakkari of Greece on day 5 of the Mubadala Citi DC Open 2025 at William H Maria Sakkari of Greece .G. FitzGerald Tennis Center on July 25, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Getty Images/AFP)

Emma Raducanu reached the semifinals at the DC Open — the biggest tournament where she's made it that far since her surprising 2021 US Open title — by eliminating Maria Sakkari 6-4, 7-5 on Friday.

On a muggy day with the temperature topping 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 Celsius), Raducanu took a medical timeout while reeling off the last five games of the match after trailing 5-2 in the second set.

"I would like to say I’m pretty good in the heat, for the most part, but I was really struggling today," said Raducanu, who was 18 when she became the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam singles trophy.

"It was one of the toughest matches, conditions-wise, I have ever played in. ... Those points in the second set, I was getting a bit wobbly. I’m just happy I could close it out, and it was two sets."

Also reaching the semifinals at the hard-court tournament in Washington was Leylah Fernandez, the runner-up to Raducanu at Flushing Meadows four years ago. Fernandez moved on with a 6-4, 7-6 (4) victory over qualifier Taylor Townsend on Thursday.

Next for Fernandez is a matchup against 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, the highest remaining seed in the field at No. 3. Rybakina was a 6-3, 6-3 winner over No. 5 Magdanela Frech, the player who beat Venus Williams on Thursday night.

Raducanu's semifinal opponent Saturday will be Anna Kalinskaya, who defeated No. 4 Clara Tauson 6-3, 7-5.

In men's action, Ben Shelton made it to the DC Open semifinals for the second consecutive year, getting past Frances Tiafoe 7-6 (2), 6-4 in an all-American quarterfinal at night. Shelton won 90% of his first-serve points and ended the match with his ninth ace, at 146 mph.

The fourth-seeded Shelton, a two-time Grand Slam semifinalist, will face No. 1 seed Taylor Fritz or No. 12 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Saturday for a berth in the final.

The other men's semifinal will be No. 7 Alex de Minaur against Corentin Moutet. De Minaur beat No. 14 Brandon Nakashima 6-4, 6-4, and Moutet was a 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 winner over 2021 US Open champion Daniil Medvedev in a match delayed for about an hour late in the third set because of lightning in the area.