The extraordinary career of Ravel Morrison took arguably its strangest turn yet when he signed for Mexican club Atlas on loan last August.
Morrison’s story has been told plenty of times. A player with incredible talent who, for various reasons, couldn’t turn that talent into a special career.
Sir Alex Ferguson kept a close eye on Morrison’s development at Manchester United - the Scot would rave about Morrison to senior players - but as he revealed in his book Leading, the midfielder’s attitude and off-the-field issues prevented him from reaching the top.
"[Morrison] possessed as much natural talent as any youngster we ever signed, but he kept getting into trouble," Ferguson wrote.
"It was very painful to sell him to West Ham because he could have been a fantastic player, but over a period of years, the problems off the pitch continued to escalate and we had little option but to cut the cord.
“There has been little evidence Ravel has matured [since]."
Morrison's career has taken him to Italy and Mexico
Morrison was contracted to West Ham for four seasons but he spent three of them out on loan, at Birmingham City, Queens Park Rangers and Cardiff City.
He signed a permanent deal with Serie A outfit Lazio in 2015 but within months of his arrival, he was criticised by Lazio coach Stefano Piolo for displaying poor character.
“Morrison has to work harder. He still doesn’t speak a word of Italian and this has slowed his development and his integration in the squad,” Pioli said.
It wasn’t a major surprise when Morrison returned to QPR on loan in January 2017 and he’s currently in South America, where he’s scored twice in 19 appearances for Atlas.
At the age of 25, Morrison has plenty of football left to play. It’s just a shame we will probably never get to see it on the big stage.
What Gary Neville said after watching Morrison play
Morrison was a part of the youth team at Man United that won the FA Youth Cup in 2011.
That team also included Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard - but Gary Neville was most impressed by Morrison after watching them play.
The former Man United right-back even compared the midfielder to Paul Gascoigne, who is considered one of the most talented English players ever.
“Ravel Morrison’s ability was just a scandal,” Neville told FourFourTwo last year. “He was playing in a midfield three with Pogba and Ryan Tunnicliffe.
“All of them were outstanding, but Ravel was the principal game changer. He was an unbelievable talent, a Paul Gascoigne-type who could beat men and score some incredible goals.
“There are few players in central midfield who can beat people - Ravel could drift past them.”
Watch: How good Morrison was at Man United
One look at Morrison’s highlights and you can understand what Neville meant.
Talk about a career unfulfilled.
including a questionable attitude and off-the-field issues,