After promising to score a goal, AS Roma’s manager gave his 18-year old wonderkid a pair Balenciaga sneakers.
Jose Mourinho made good on his word after Ghanaian international Felix Afena-Gyan came off the bench and scored two rapid-fire goals within 10 minutes, giving Roma the 2-0 victory over Genoa Sunday.
Mourinho called the young man, aged 18, into the locker room, and presented him with a shiny bag in gold. The sneakers were valued at $900 inside.
“I’m extremely delighted. Grateful to Mister,”AfenaGyan shared footage of him getting kicked on Twitter.
Mourinho, who is not one to be kept in check, spoke out following the game Sunday.
“I had promised to buy Felix the boots he really likes, which are really expensive, they cost €800, so he ran over and told me not to forget! Tomorrow morning, the first thing I do is buy him the boots,”Mourinho spoke to DAZN, an Italian sports outlet, Sunday night.
Mourinho was also impressed by the calmness and coolness of the teen in front the net, which led to two rocket goals.
“What impressed me the most was his cool head in front of goal. If he is not in terms of technique fantastic, he does have a strong mentality,”DAZN was informed by him. “You get these kids now who think they know everything, but he is humble and you can sense he just absorbs all this information from everyone around him. That’s fantastic.
“Felix has this type of intensity, he presses the opposition, forces them to make mistakes and gave a different intensity to the side,”He concluded.
Afena Gyan dedicated Sunday’s win to his mother.
“I LOVE YOU MUM @juliet_adubea. Your prayers keep me going. This is for You,”He wrote it on Twitter.
His mom, Juliet Adubea, replied saying, “I LOVE U SON Can’t thank God enough’ u ‘re a HEROE IM really proud of u God bless u so very much once again ‘I LOVE u MORE.”
Afena-Gyan had not played professionally before joining Roma in 2021. He was still playing schoolboy football in Ghana in 2019 then the pandemic hit and slowed down his gameplay before scouts from the Italian team noticed his ability and signed him for the youth team where Mourinho really took notice of his ability.
Sunday was the teenager’He made his third appearance for the club during this season. After his performance, he received the following: “Man of the Match.”
Afena Gyan’s second goal in the match is being called one of the greatest matches of the season.