Former Liverpool forward Ryan Babel was a very promising kid when he plied his trade in Ajax before moving to England to play under Rafa Benitez in Liverpool.
The then 21-year old Dutch raw talent agreed to move for a transfer fee in the region to 11.5 million Pounds.
Former Liverpool forward Ryan Babel was a very promising kid when he plied his trade in Ajax before moving to England to play under Rafa Benitez in Liverpool.
The then 21-year old Dutch raw talent agreed to move for a transfer fee in the region to 11.5 million Pounds.
In the summer of 2007, he signed a five year contract with the Merseysiders and was handed the number 19 jersey famously owned by Spanish player Fernando Morientes. The player, only 21 then already had over 100 appearancess for Ajax helping them lift the Eredivisie 2003/2004 and also the KNVB cup. He also has two of the Johan Cruyff Shield medal.
He made his senior international debut on March 26th 2005 against Romania where he came on as a substitute for Arjen Robben, Babel went on to score their second goal in the 2-0 thumping. He was also added in the Dutch squad for FIFA World Cup 2006 by then manager Marco Van Basten at the age of 19.
He was heavily linked as the next best thing and nicknamed the ‘next Thierry Henry’. He was selected to make the 2010 FIFA World Cup but did not appear in any of the matches. He kept on with decent play at Liverpool under Rafa Benitez terrorizing the opponents with his great dribbling and ball control skills. He scored a lot of crucial goals for The Reds, mostly in the UEFA Champions League.
His career was marred by consecutive controversies when he had a rift with the manager. He posted on Twitter that he has been dropped for a game and the club took disciplinary actions and fined him. He angered fans the more when he reportedly travelled to London with an intention to move to West Ham or Spurs. His game time became more limited and he took to social media more.
He was also reported to have played online games whilst watching the team from the subs bench, though in fairness at least they were football-themed games, and they do look uite exciting!
He was the first professional player who was charged and fined by the FA for improper conduct made on social media. He eventually moved to TSG Hoffenheim in 2010 before returning to his boyhood club. Two years later. He currently is in the UAE Gulf league where nothing is practically heard of him.