Contract with Manchester City and shoe agreement with Adidas

The short version

The 14-year-old Cavan Sullivan has been hunted by big clubs since he was 10 years old
Manchester City won the signing, but he cannot play for them until he turns 18
Plays for the MLS club Philadelphia Union until then, with the most expensive academy player deal of all time
Sullivan is the youngest player in the United States with his own shoe deal

The teenager is seen as an exceptional footballer.

Several big clubs are said to have fought for him. According to The Athletic, Manchester City should have won that match, but the agreement is unusual.

The midfielder will not go to City until a full four years from now.

Special rules mean that he cannot become a professional abroad until he turns 18.

SPONSORED: Sullivan will be the youngest soccer player in the United States with his own shoe deal. He has it with Adidas. Photo: Philadelphia Union

Until then, he will play for MLS club Philadelphia Union.

This week it became clear that Sullivan has been included in the first team of the club, in what will be the biggest and most expensive deal with a academy playerAcademy Player: A young player who is part of a club’s youth academy, which is a program designed to develop talented young players. ever in the American major league.

– Cavan is undoubtedly a very special and extraordinary talent, says Philadelphia Union coach Ernst Tanner in a press release.

– His high football IQ, together with the ability to read the game, move the ball and score, shows how great his talent is, he adds about the – right now – 158 centimeter tall Sullivan.

But the agreement will also state that the 14-year-old will move to England to play for Manchester City on the day he comes of age. According to The Athletic, City will then pay five million dollars (just over NOK 50 million) for the clause to be activated.

That says most about how much faith the Champions League champions already have in the American.

DOESN’T LISTEN TO ANYONE: Sullivan says he wants to go his own way. Photo: Philadelphia Union

Last year, when he was just 13 years old, Sullivan led the U.S. boys 15 national team to victory in continental championshipContinental Championship: A tournament where national teams from a specific continent compete against each other, such as the European Championship or Copa América. for North and Central America.

He was the youngest on the team, but was still named the tournament’s best player.

After that, the sponsors also got their eyes on the stylish teenager.

Sullivan will now be the youngest player in the United States with his own shoe deal.

This season, among other things, he has played with an eye-catching chalk white shoe that Adidas has collaborated with the luxury brand Prada to create.

Already at the age of ten, Sullivan began to receive requests from elite clubs, he says himself in an interview with the American Fortune.

– I think that was when I thought “this is happening”. It didn’t feel real, but it triggered something in my head, so I thought, ‘I can do this,’” he says of his dream of turning pro.

He tries not to listen too much to those who call him a super talent.

– I try not to care what I’m called. I don’t listen to anyone, whether it’s positive or negative. So it doesn’t affect me in any way.

Sullivan grew up in Philadelphia and is the youngest of four brothers. Quinn, 20, also plays for the Philadelphia Union. Both parents have also been high-level football players, while grandfather Larry coached Villanova between 1991–2007.