Former Celtic flop Amido Balde has revealed his ambitions to get back into football at the age of 34, a whopping six years after he called it quits.
Balde signed for Celtic on a four-year deal in the summer of 2013 from Vitoria Guimaraes. The Portuguese striker made 20 appearances in his first season, but only managed to find the net three times.
He was sent out on loan twice, but in 2015, his contract was finally terminated by mutual agreement so he could join Metz in the second tier of French football.
After playing for a few more clubs, he made the move to Vietnam in 2020 to sign for Ho Chi Minh City. He made his debut in a 2-1 loss in the AFC Champions League, and although he scored six in 14 games, the club were looking to loan him out. He refused, and as such, his contract was ripped up once again.
Since then, he has now revealed that he has moved away from football and into the world of bricks. The former £2 million striker is working at a brick factory in the Netherlands, and is also a forklift truck driver. But despite all of that, he has hopes that his football career could still be revived.
In an interview, Balde said:
"Maybe it's not realistic. But I'd love to have another chance to prove myself in football. I didn't realise how happy I was during my career. I will never forget the packed stands at Celtic cheering me.
At Celtic, I was teammates with Virgil van Dijk. He is a good man. He took me to Edinburgh for dinner and shopping. I was on a long dry spell without a goal at Celtic, and he sensed I wasn't happy. God bless him. But Virgil's in Liverpool, and I'm here.
I didn't always have the right mentality. I lacked focus. Where exactly did it go wrong? I find that difficult to say. I stopped playing during the Covid period. I was busy with my family and thought everything would work out in the end.
I have to provide for my family, and this is a good job. I searched the internet for 'working in the Netherlands' because I had heard it paid well, and clicked on the first offer I got. I didn't make any money from my football career because I spent what I earned on clothes, watches and going out. But I never made millions.
The only things I focus on are work, my family, and my religion. In the evenings, I call my wife and children. They are the most important thing to me. I also pray and read the Bible. That's enough for me. I just hope God gives me another chance in football."
Football waits for nobody
This just shows that football truly waits for nobody. One minute, you can be on top of the world, and the next, your career is completely gone.
Balde probably made some bad decisions along the way. Refusing to be sent out on loan by his last club to the point they terminated his contract was probably one of them. But who knows, some club around the world could take a gamble on the striker, even though he is well past his best.