He may not have made much of an impact during his time at Tottenham Hotspur, but Giovani Dos Santos certainly made an impression on Ledley King, who compared the former player to Brazil legend, Ronaldinho.
Dos Santos came through the Barcelona academy in the early 2000s, before joining Spurs in 2008. He would go on to make 33 appearances for the Tottenham first team, scoring three goals and registering three assists (Transfermarkt).
Loan spells at Ipswich Town, Galatasaray, and Racing Santander would offer the Mexican chances at regular first-team football, before he eventually left Tottenham permanently in 2012 to join Mallorca.
The former attacking midfielder retired last summer after being without a club since his release from CF America in 2021.
Giovani Dos Santos was an unbelievable talent
Speaking on TalkSPORT’s DriveTime about the incredible young players he’s seen in his career, Spurs legend Ledley King pinpointed Dos Santos as a top talent.
“I’ve seen players who I thought were unbelievable. I remember watching Giovanni Dos Santos when he was playing for Mexico in an Under-16s tournament. He looked just like Ronaldinho, but a younger version.
“I didn’t say go and buy him but I just thought to myself that he was going to be a star. He ended up joining, but it didn’t quite work out for him. He was a big talent.”
King then mentioned Gareth Bale, Kevin Prince Boateng, and Adel Taarabt as “talented young players” he has seen come and go at Spurs.
Spurs Web Opinion
I remember when we first signed Giovani Dos Santos, and the hype around him at the time. You can tell there was a really good player in there, but he just didn’t quite suit the Premier League and things went downhill for him from there really, which is a shame.