RAVEL MORRISON should have been the best footballer in the world, according to James Collins.
Morrison, 30, started out his career as a highly anticipated prospect at Manchester United.
However, things ultimately didn’t pan out the way they were expected for the midfielder, who now plays for D.C. United.
But former West Ham star Collins – who has faced Premier League icons such as Wayne Rooney and Kevin de Bruyne – has insisted Morrison should have made it to the top of the game given his talent.
Speaking to West Ham Fan TV, Collins, 40, said: “Ravel Morrison was the best player I’ve ever seen.
“The boy was an absolute joke. I’m gutted you all didn’t get to see him more than you did, because that boy should have been the best player in the world.
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“He was ridiculous. What I’d seen, Ryan Giggs, Gareth Bale, he would have been on a level with them boys.”
Morrison played alongside Welshman Collins at West Ham between 2012 and 2015.
As reported by The Telegraph in 2013, Sir Alex Ferguson told then Hammers boss Sam Allardyce: “I hope you can sort him out, because if you can he’ll be a genius.
“A brilliant footballer. Brilliant ability. Top-class ability. Needs to get away from Manchester and start a new life.”
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And the ex-England boss appeared to have cracked the formula when Morrison scored a stunning solo goal against Tottenham in 2013, dribbling through the entire team before chipping the goalkeeper.
Collins remembered the goal with fondness, but revealed Morrison failed to turn up to training on Christmas day despite an attempted intervention from himself, Mark Noble and Kevin Nolan.
He added: “Remember that goal he scored against Tottenham. That was just before Christmas.
“The club had had a bit of trouble with him, he had not been turning up for training. So he scored that goal and won the game.
“Me, Kevin Nolan, Mark Noble had him at the back of the bus and gone: ‘right Rav, this is you now.
“Everyone is speaking about you, seeing what you are doing. Keep it going’. We trained on Christmas Day to play Arsenal on Boxing Day.
“We were in training, sitting on the bus at Upton Park, he just didn’t turn up and he had just scored that goal against Tottenham, whenever it was and everyone was talking about it.
“So we thought we had him and he was in and his head was straight and then he just f***ed off.”
Loans move to Birmingham, Queens Park Rangers and Cardiff followed before he departed for Lazio.
More loans would follow overseas including a stint with Ostersund – the former club of Graham Potter – in 2019.
Morrison seemed to have found his feet again under Rooney at Derby.
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However, after joining D.C. United under the Man Utd legend, Morrison was left out of the team’s Major League Soccer squad for the 2023 season.
Morrison has made 18 appearances for the Jamaican national team, scoring a stunning free-kick in June 2022.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
