What happened to Zakaria Bakkali? The teenage football sensation destined for the top

Back in 2013, teenage sensation Zakaria Bakkali broke onto the world stage in the Eredivisie, starting spectacularly for PSV Eindhoven.

Just four days after the Belgian made his debut for PSV, he scored his first goal in the second leg of a Champions League qualifying game against Zulte Waregem.

Aged 17 years, 196 days, Bakkali would put the world on notice, becoming the youngest player to score a hattrick in the Dutch league.

His exhilarating start in his first month of professional football sent scouts in Europe into a frenzy, with a flurry of giant European clubs searching for his signature.

Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Arsenal were the four English clubs after his signature due to his start with PSV.

His excellent start to life in Eindhoven got the attention of the Belgium National Team, who gave him his debut in October 2013 in a 1-1 draw against Wales.

Those who created FIFA 14, EA Sports, spotted the talent of Bakkali and made his potential overall on FIFA career mode a whopping 90 overall, the highest in the game.

The FIFA community soon got to know Bakkali and his huge potential, with the hype of his talent growing to exponential levels after his release on the game.

Liverpool looked to favorites to sign him, but after speculation and rumors, Bakkali joined Spanish giants Valencia in 2015.

According to sportbible.com, Bakkali said: "I've had many offers, but Valencia and the Spanish league is a dream come true for me."

After he joined Valencia, the career of Zakaria Bakkali would take a drastic turn, making 34 league appearances and scoring only two goals for Valencia.

He played a season on loan in La Liga for Deportivo de La Coruna in 2017/18, failing to score a goal in 23 games. His terrible spell in Spain soon came to an end, joining Belgium side Anderlecht in 2018.

Going back home could have been the restart Bakkali needed to reach the form he had with PSV five years earlier. However, it didn't get any better.

In four years with Anderlecht, Bakkali only managed to play 24 games, scoring two goals for the team.

After a failed loan spell with Belgium club Beerschot, who chose not to buy the winger after the club was given the option to buy him, Bakkali returned to Eredivisie in 2022.

The Belgian winger now plies his trade for RKC Waalwijk, signing a two-year contract and playing 24 games so far. Ten years later, it's not exactly where people thought he would be after such a fine start in his professional career.