In July 2018, it was announced that Bayern Munich had signed Alphonso Davies for a first $ 13million, making him the most expensive player ever bought from Major League Soccer. He is 17 Davies, who will be 18 in November, will move to Germany from Vancouver Whitecaps in January in a deal that could ultimately be worth $ 22million.

The wing has become a sensation in North America, but having gone from refugee to record-breaker, it is reasonable to say that he has not followed a typical path. Davies was born in a refugee camp in Ghana, his parents among the 12,000 who fled Liberia in their home country’s second civil war. They moved to Ontario in Canada when Davies was five before settling in Edmonton, where the youth started playing football, first for Edmonton International and then Edmonton Strikers.

That’s where his talent was first spotted, leading him to attend the Vancouver Whitecaps Residency program when he was 14 years old. Residency is described as a “fully funded player development program designed to maximize a player’s potential on and off the field” and it was not long before Davies stood out.

Youngest USL player

Davies was traced to the second team of the clubs, Whitecaps FC 2, in February 2016, who became the youngest ever player to sign a United Soccer League contract (USL) at 15 years and 3 months old. Vingen made his professional debut only two months later, grabbing his first goal in May 2016, making him the youngest goal shooter in the USL story.

He made such an impression in fact, that after just four months of Whitecaps 2 in June he made his debut for Vancouver’s first team in the Canadian championship. A month later, he had signed a contract until the end of the 2020 season and became the third youngest player in history to do it in MLS.