Liverpool’s youngest-ever player record has not changed since 2012, and had you been asked to guess at the time what the man in question would be doing more than a decade on, you would not have come close.
Jerome Sinclair, the former Liverpool striker who has bounced around a few clubs since leaving Anfield, is currently playing in a YouTube league. And he could be spotted again on Monday as KSI’s Baller League tournament continues.
Sinclair’s post-Liverpool career has failed to live up to the promise he once had. His last competitive outing in soccer came in 2021 when he was employed by Watford, while on loan at CSKA Sofia, having previously spent time with Birmingham City, Sunderland, Oxford United, and VVV Venlo.
An unsuccessful trial with Oxford United in 2022 appears to have been his last act in professional soccer. Now 28, Sinclair has been included as one of a number of current and former pros involved in the inaugural UK version of the so-called Baller League.
The competition is a six-a-side indoor version of soccer which is broadcast on Sky Sports in the UK and streamed on YouTube. Sinclair is representing VZN FC alongside former Arsenal midfielder Henri Lansbury, who last played for Luton.
Jordon Ibe, once Sinclair’s teammate at Liverpool, is also involved as part of a team called the 26ers. According to BBC Sport, the players are each earning a fee of £400 per game (around $517).
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Young winger Rio Ngumoha (16 years, 135 days) and Harvey Elliott (16 years, 174 days) are among Liverpool’s top five youngest appearance makers, while Trey Nyoni set the European record earlier this season in the Champions League.
Sinclair came off the bench in a 2-1 win over former club West Brom in the League Cup in 2012. He was aged 16 years and six days, overtaking left-back Jack Robinson. Sinclair went on to play five times for Liverpool’s first team. That included a first and only start against Exeter City in the FA Cup in 2016 — in which he scored in the 12th minute of a 2-2 draw.
While he was once highly rated, Sinclair’s chances dwindled amid criticism from Jurgen Klopp over his wage demands and he eventually left to join Watford for a compensation fee of around $5.2 million (£4 million) in 2016.
