From playing with Messi, Ronaldinho to being jobless: The curious case of Giovani dos Santos

On many occasions, it doesn't work out for young footballers who many thought so highly of and expected so much from. History is littered with so many examples of this type of player and one of them is  Giovani dos Santos. The Mexican professional footballer started his career in the famed La Masia academy of FC Barcelona, had played over 1000 senior football minutes, and had played in the same team as Lionel Messi. But a combination of being unlucky with coaches and then with injuries has led the striker to be jobless going into the 2021 season.

Giovani dos Santos former clubs and records in Europe

The 32-year-old exciting winger/forward started his career with two years with the Barcelona senior team, after spending the previous four years (2002 - 2006) in the La Masia. During the ill-fated 2 seasons at Barcelona, Giovani dos Santos played 64 games and scored 10 times. He was ultimately pushed out of the Blaugrana team because Bojan Krkic was more productive and did not impede Lionel Messi's chances on the field.

Giovani dos Santos then moved to Tottenham Hotspur where he also had tough luck due to a combination of injuries and not fitting into the coaches hands. The Mexican forward was able to make only 33 appearances for Tottenham Hotspur during 4 years. His paltry 4 goals in 4 seasons return bewildered everyone. During these 4 years at Tottenham, the player had 3 loan transfers to Ipswich Town, Galatasaray, and Racing Santander. 

In 2012, Giovani dos Santos started a sojourn of the Spanish La Liga where he initially grew in. He was on the books of Mallorca for the 2012/13 season, scoring 6 goals in 32 matches in all appearances. Then followed a two-year spell with Villarreal that was marginally better. The forward scored a total of 17 goals across 73 matches for the Yellow Submarines. 

Giovani dos Santos return to the MLS/Liga MX, clubs and records

After a disappointing time in Europe, Giovani dos Santos returned to his home continent and signed with LA Galaxy in the MLS. The Mexican had an average stay for the MLS side, scoring 29 goals and making 88 appearances. He departed the team in 2018 for Liga MX side, Club America.

At Club America, Giovani dos Santos had a forgettable moment with the Mexicans side. He scored only 4 goals in 42 matches for Club America and he was later released earlier this year. He is still without a club and this represents a sharp fall from grace for a player that once played with Lionel Messi at Barcelona.