FORMER Barcelona target John Bostock has signed for his 15th professional club… non-league side Notts County.
The 30-year-old midfielder was once one of the most highly-rated young talents in English football.
Getty – ContributorJohn Bostock has had a journeyman career since being a teenage prodigy[/caption]
GettyBostock spent one season in the Championship with Nottingham Forest[/caption]
As a teenager, he famously turned down a 10-year deal with Barcelona and also rejected approaches from the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea.
But since the summer he has been without a club after Doncaster Rovers were relegated from League One.
Now he has finally found a new contract, joining fifth tier outfit Notts County.
Announcing the news on Twitter, he said: “Back at it! Delighted to have signed for the oldest league club in the world @Official_NCFC.
“Grateful to God for this next step in mine and my family’s journey. Let’s go! #coyp.”
While at Crystal Palace as a 14-year-old, Bostock caught the attention of Barcelona.
They offered him a decade-long deal, with the Catalan giants even sending the Englishman a signed Ronaldinho poster in a bid to convince him to move to Spain.
But he turned them down because his parents wanted him to continue his development in London.
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Talking to the BBC back in 2020, Bostock said: “When I was 14, Barcelona offered me a 10-year contract.
“Ronaldinho was my favourite player at the time so they sent me a signed poster from him.
“I’ve still got it at my house in London. It said: ‘To John from Ronaldinho’.
“You name the club, I had interest from them. Barcelona, Real Madrid, Inter [Milan], Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool – the who’s who of European football.”
Bostock left Crystal Palace for Tottenham in 2008 in a dramatic move that saw the two clubs go to a tribunal.
But he never managed to play in the Premier League as he was offloaded on loan to Brentford, Hull, Sheffield Wednesday, Swindon and Toronto until his departure in 2013.
Bostock’s nomadic career extended abroad with spells at Royal Antwerp, Leuven, Lens, Bursaspor and Toulouse, who loaned him out to Nottingham Forest.