Highlights

• Ravel Morrison never fulfilled his potential and finds himself without a club after a stint in the MLS.
• Morrison's career has been plagued by unsuccessful loan spells and stints with multiple clubs.
• Sir Alex Ferguson praised Morrison's talent and revealed that the player's background played a role in his struggles.

When talking about players who wasted their talent, Ravel Morrison is one of the most obvious examples. Ask anyone at Manchester United about Morrison, and they'll tell stories of just how talented he was.

England have produced some wonderful midfield players over the years, such as Paul Scholes, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard. The Man United youngster was held in the same regard as those three icons of the sport at his age. However, over a decade on from his time in the Red Devils' youth ranks, Morrison now represents Jamaica at international level, having never appeared for the Three Lions' senior squad.

His Man United stint also never took off and the box-to-box midfielder has turned into a journeyman during his senior career, having played for 13 different clubs by the time he had hit his 30s. It's fair to say the player never lived up to the expectations placed upon his shoulders at a young age.

Ravel Morrison's career

From wonderkid to without a cub

Morrison was expected to be a future star in the middle of the park for both Manchester United and England after impressing in the youth set-up of his club and country. Things didn't go quite to plan, however, as his career took a downward turn very early and never recovered.

He made just three appearances for United’s first team before a failed spell at West Ham. His time with the Hammers got off to a great start - after having spent a season on loan at Birmingham City - with a sensational solo goal against Tottenham in a 3-0 Premier League away success for his new club. His driving runs from midfield and confidence in possession gave brilliant early impressions, before the wheels fell off.

This is where things Morrison's career really began to unravel as he was sent on loan to the likes of Queens Park Rangers, Cardiff and Middlesbrough in the Championship after losing his place in the Irons' first-team. He then embarked on unsuccessful stints with Lazio in Italy, Atlas in Mexico, Ostersund in Sweden and ADO Den Haag in the Netherlands.

In 2021, Derby County offered Morrison perhaps a final chance at redemption in the English game, signing him on a free transfer after his release from his previous Eredivisie employers.

At the age of 31, he’s now a free agent. His most recent club was D.C. United, where he played under Man United legend Wayne Rooney for a spell. It’s a sad story and just goes to show that talent isn’t everything.

Sir Alex Ferguson's text message about Morrison

The iconic manager sent Rio Ferdinand an emotional message

The former wonderkid appeared on Rio Ferdinand’s FIVE podcast in 2021. The former United defender decided to text his former manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, to give him five words on Morrison. What Ferguson replied was pretty emotional.

The message Ferdinand received in return read as follows: “Rio, my first and lasting impression of Ravel as a young lad was he has always got time and space, always available to be on the ball so unusual for a young lad of his age. Give my regards to him, please.

“Another thing about Ravel which I’ve always treasured because no other young player who made their debut did it. After the first game in the first-team that he played, the next morning he came to my office and gave me a letter thanking me for giving him his debut. I was gobsmacked, Rio," the Scottish boss continued. It was the next line that really pulled on the heartstrings as Ferguson rounded off his reply by saying:

The boy had a good heart, he was just beaten by his background.

“I almost started crying,” admitted Ferdinand. But perhaps the most emotional sentence came from Morrison who said: “If I could go back in time, I would change 90% of my life.” Wow.

Morrison opens up on difficult Man United start

The youngster went to extreme extents to raise some money

Ferguson mentioned Morrison’s background in his text and the former prospect explained how he sold Ferdinand and Wayne Rooney’s boots just to feed his family. Morrison revealed: "Remember I got kicked out of the changing room for thieving your boots?" Ferdinand responded: "Tell me if I’m wrong but you were taking our boots down to Goals to show your mates…."

Morrison added: "Obviously I was on scholar’s wage, I was young. You used to get like £250 for a pair of boots. You take two pairs of boots, you get £500 and go home and buy your family a Chinese or something. You guys used to get like 30 pairs of boots. I didn’t mean to cause harm, but when I saw yours or [Wayne] Rooney’s deliveries, you’d get 20-30 pairs at a time, I was thinking one pair to put some food on the table at home, it wouldn’t be a big problem."

Having a difficult start in life could be the main cause of Morrison's issues when it came to settling into a steady career at any of the clubs he represented. Dele Alli is another player that rose to prominence in his early years before seeing his career fall off a cliff. The Everton midfielder opened up about his struggles as a child and this is where parallels can be drawn between him and Morrison.