TOKYO, JAPAN - AUGUST 30: Takefusa Kubo of FC Barcelona in action during the U-12 Junior Soccer ... [+] World Challenge 2013 final match between FC Barcelona and Liverpool FC at Ajinomoto Stadium on August 30, 2013 in Tokyo, Japan. On their books from 2011 to 2015 in the famed La Masia academy, Takefusa Kubo was forced to head back to his native Japan when FC Barcelona were found to have violated international transfer rules for U18’s. Seeing out the rest of his development at FC Tokyo, he could have easily resigned for the Blaugrana this summer upon turning adult age. “Real Madrid were clear that they wanted to sign me,” he later explained to MARCA. Before uncomfortable with his “Little Messi” tag, it seems that he has gradually become less hung-up about the whole affair.

Source: Forbes December 07, 2019 11:03 UTC