Ledley King has admitted that a player who left Tottenham Hotspur back in 2012 reminded him of former Brazil star Ronaldinho.
The former Spurs captain played alongside many of the best players we’ve seen at Tottenham over the past 20 years.
From Luka Modric to Gareth Bale, Ledley King witnessed his fair share of talented stars during his 24 years at Hotspur Way.
If it wasn’t for persistent knee injuries, King himself would likely be remembered as one of the best Premier League defenders of all time.
King remains the last player to captain Spurs to a major trophy having scooped a League Cup back in 2008. But while the legendary defender played alongside a host of stars, there were inevitably some players who failed to make an impact in the first-team.
And King claims that a player who managed just three goals for Tottenham reminded him of Ronaldinho when he first watched him.
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King says Giovani dos Santos reminded him of Ronaldinho
Giovani dos Santos endured a miserable time of things after joining Spurs from Barcelona back in 2008.
The Mexican forward arrived in north London at the age of 19 and looked set for a bright future in the game.
Spurs fans will remember his four goals in pre-season ahead of the 2008/09 campaign and it looked as if the club had picked up a future star. But Dos Santos went on to make just 33 appearances for Tottenham and left in 2012 for Mallorca after underwhelming loan spells at Racing and Galatasaray.
Despite his poor spell in north London, King has reflected on watching Dos Santos in a Mexico Under-16s game before he joined Spurs. The former defender told talkSPORT that Dos Santos looked like a young Ronaldinho.
“I’ve seen players where I thought, unbelievable,” King said. “I’ll tell you one, Dos Santos, I remember watching him, Giovani dos Santos, when he was playing for Mexico in like an under-16s tournament, and he looked just like Ronaldinho, just a younger version.
“I didn’t say go and buy him, but I thought to myself that kid’s going to be a star. He ends up joining our club, it didn’t work out for him, but he was a big talent.”
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What happened to Dos Santos after Tottenham exit?
An encouraging campaign at Mallorca led to Dos Santos earning a move to Villarreal in 2013.
The Mexican forward registered 20 goal involvements in 34 games in his debut season for the La Liga outfit.
He eventually left Villareal in 2015 after a couple of underwhelming campaigns, joining MLS outfit Los Angeles. The forward hung up his boots in 2023 after finishing his career in Mexico at CF America.