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Former Tottenham midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng once shared a cautionary tale of his materialistic attitude to football early in his career. The retired Ghana international played for clubs across the top five European leagues during his career, featuring in England, Spain, Italy, and Germany.
Boateng had a nomadic journey that saw him feature for a variety of clubs, ranging from UD Las Palmas to the legendary Italian giants, AC Milan. Musing about his well-traveled career to La Repubblica in 2019, the Ghanian said:
“I’ll go back and say: I didn’t treat football as a job. I was an idiot. I had talent but I trained the bare minimum, an hour on the field. I was the last to arrive and the first to leave. I’d be out with friends. I had money, I lived like a king. I’d never been to the gym. That changes your later career."
“I bought three cars in one day when I was at Tottenham: a Lamborghini, a Hummer and a Cadillac. To the youngsters, I tell them: ‘You cannot buy happiness.’ I didn’t play, I had family problems, I was out of the squad. I was looking for happiness in material things: a car makes you happy for a week. I bought three to be happy for three weeks.”
Kevin-Prince Boateng played 526 club games scoring 78 and assisting 56 goals in a career that saw him win one La Liga, one Serie A, one DFB Pokal, and one League Cup.
A brief history of Kevin-Prince Boateng's career
Kevin-Prince Boateng is a retired Ghanaian footballer who led a storied career for club and country. Boateng was born on March 6, 1987, in Berlin, Germany, and began his football journey at the youth academy of Hertha Berlin where he honed his skills.
Boateng's career took off in 2005 when he signed with Hertha Berlin and made his debut at just 18. He quickly established himself and secured a move to Tottenham Hotspur in 2007.
The midfielder never really settled at one club and between 2009 and 2013, playing for Portsmouth, AC Milan, and Schalke 04. His most notable stint was with AC Milan, where he won the Serie A title and Supercoppa Italiana.
In 2013, Boateng joined Schalke 04, which was followed by a return to the Rossioneri. He then played for Las Palmas, Eintracht Frankfurt, Sassuolo, Barcelona, and Fiorentina.
Kevin-Prince Boateng has also represented the Ghana national team, earning 15 caps and scoring twice. He featured for the Black Stars in the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, as well as in the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.
