Emre Mor was destined for greatness.
Touted as ‘the Turkish Messi’, the left-footed winger was tipped for superstardom from a young age.
In June 2016, Dortmund fought off tough competition to sign the 18-year-old from Danish side FC Nordsjaelland.
Mor’s natural talent and silky dribbling made him one of Europe’s most-hyped young players.
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Two appearances against Real Madrid in the Champions League showed just how highly Dortmund rated him.
He ended the 2016/17 season with one goal and three assists in 12 Bundesliga appearances.
Everything seemed to be heading in the right direction for Mor.
There was just one crucial ingredient missing — modesty.
Mor’s attitude emerged as a potential stumbling block towards the end of his first season with Dortmund.
As the first-team starts dried up, he struggled to contain his frustration.
This impudence tested the patience of manager Thomas Tuchel.
Mor’s antics left the German side with no choice but to oust the player.
The Turkish international was more than happy to escape Dortmund and headed for pastures new in La Liga.
The prospect of playing in Spain had always appealed to the youngster.
“My biggest dream is to one day wear the Madrid jersey,” he told ESPN in March 2017.
“I know myself and I think I could play for Barcelona too.”
However, Mor’s dreams of playing in Spain manifested in a different way, as he signed for Celta Vigo in 2017 for £13million.
The youngster featured regularly during his first season in northwest Spain as he strived to get his career back on track.
However, Mor struggled for form and managed just one goal and three assists in 23 appearances.
Celta laboured to 13th in the table and the midfielder’s off-field troubles began to rear their ugly heads once more.
Mor turned up late for training, and faced the wrath of the club’s management.
Celta’s manager, Juan Carlos Unzue, has said the former Dortmund man doesn’t have the “same attitude” as his team-mates.
The club’s second-most expensive signing was forced to publicly apologise for his antics.
After little improvement in his attitude, Mor’s game time has suffered this season.
The 21-year-old’s only involvement so far this campaign was a 38-minute cameo from the bench in their opening-day draw with Espanyol.
The midfielder was an unused substitute for the next four games, and has now failed to make the squad for Celta’s last three outings.
Mor’s plight is a bizarre one.
He clearly still has a lot of faith in his ability.
He even retweeted a link to where fans could buy his new shirt for the upcoming season.
His fall from grace should act as a stark warning to the youngsters coming through today, including current Dortmund starlet Jadon Sancho.
Talent alone is not enough to propel you to football’s pinnacle.
Mor is still only 21-years-old, and it remains to be seen whether the former wonderkid will change his ways.
But at this stage his talent seems destined to go to waste.
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