A 13-year-old US soccer prodigy has signed a million dollar endorsement deal with Nike.
Ghanaian-born Freddy Adu agreed terms with the footwear company worth £600,000 over several years.
The striker turned down a lucrative contract to sign with Italian side Inter Milan when he was 11, and has also attracted interest from several English clubs.
He plays for the US under-17 team and is expected to turn professional after taking part in next year's Olympics.
Adu moved to the US when he was eight after his mother, Emilia, won a green card in the immigration lottery. He became an American citizen in February.
Emilia had two jobs to support her family after settling near Washington DC, but could not afford to visit her son after he moved to Florida to attend a special sports school.
Adu's lawyer, Arnold Tarzay, said the Nike contract would act as an insurance policy that could set the schoolboy up for life if something went wrong with his career.
"This deal gives Freddy the ability financially to go through school and not have to sell his playing ability (to a team) to get from point A to point B in his career."
The agreement comes less than a week after Nike signed 18-year-old high school basketball star LeBron James in a contract worth £55m.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article