No matter where Ravel Morrison goes or what he does with his career, there’ll always follow a quote from former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson regarding his prodigious talents as a teenager: “Sadly, there are examples of players who have similar backgrounds to [Ryan] Giggs or Cristiano Ronaldo, who, despite enormous talent, just aren’t emotionally or mentally strong enough to overcome the hurts of their childhood and their inner demons.
“Ravel Morrison might be the saddest case. He possessed as much natural talent as any youngster we ever signed, but kept getting into trouble. It was very painful to sell him to West Ham in 2012 because he could have been a fantastic player.”
It’s been over five years since Morrison was sold to West Ham after rising through the ranks at Man United, but he still has hardly anything to show for a professional career that’s now approaching a span of nearly 10 years.
Morrison only played in 24 matches for West Ham during his three-and-a-half year stint there, spending the majority of his time out on loan in the English Championship with Birmingham City, Queens Park Rangers and Cardiff City.
With his career in England failing, Morrison made the widely applauded decision to join Lazio in Serie A to kickstart his career. Away from all the off-the-pitch issues that plagued him, Italy was seen as the remedy.
But, as ancient wisdom holds, you can’t run from your problems. He was criticized by coach Stefano Pioli for his effort and his nonexistent desire to learn Italian despite the fact that he’d signed a four-year deal.
He was loaned to QPR for the later half of last season, but he found himself looking for another Lazio exit this summer. According to The Mirror, that exit has been provided in the form of a one-year loan deal to Club Atlas in Liga MX.
Terminó Ravel Morrison. Si todo está en orden, el fichaje debe estar cerrado en próximas horas. pic.twitter.com/vSgYkcO6Re
— Alberto Ávalos (@Betto_Avalos) August 29, 2017
Atlas are currently last in the Liga MX relegation table, directly behind Veracruz. The Guadalajara-based side is desperate for any sort of spark, so Morrison represents exactly the kind of risk they’re willing to take at the moment.
Still only 24, Morrison’s career narrative isn’t set in stone. While he’ll never live up to his billing as the best 14-year-old Ferguson had ever seen, Morrison still has an opportunity to show the world that his talents weren’t completely wasted.
This might be his last chance.
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