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The hype machine, the relentless media coverage, the blinding glare of fame. The current reality of Cavan Sullivan is one we've witnessed before.
The 16-year-old prodigy has completely dominated Major League Soccer this summer, even overshadowing soccer icon Lionel Messi in terms of the league's most attention-grabbing storylines. Sullivan, who has accumulated five goals and four assists across seven consecutive matches for the Philadelphia Union, is being celebrated not only as a rising star of the sport, but more notably, as a once-in-a-generation talent in the making.
That's an enormous burden for a young teenager who still lives at home with his parents and gets scolded by his mother "if he curses too much" and is "on his phone too much." How do you balance being an ordinary teenager with a genuine love for the game when the entire world is scrutinizing your every move on the pitch and offering commentary on it?
It's a level of pressure former teenage sensation Freddy Adu knew all too well, and it's ultimately what derailed him.
What Went Wrong for Freddy Adu?
Dubbed the "new Pelé," the scrutiny surrounding Adu was arguably even more intense than what Sullivan currently faces. When a 14-year-old Adu—renowned for his ball control and clever footwork not unlike Sullivan's—signed with D.C. United in 2004, he became the youngest American athlete to sign a major league contract in over 115 years and soon became the youngest player ever to make his debut in the league. The latter is a record Sullivan has since surpassed, debuting for the Union in July 2024 at 14 years and 293 days old, just 15 days younger than Adu was just over two decades prior.
MLS, in a desperate bid to legitimize the league, placed everything on young Adu's shoulders in 2004—the league's aspirations, ambitions and expectations. It was an overwhelming burden for a player who was still fundamentally a child, and a decision that long-serving MLS commissioner Don Garber has come to deeply regret.
"I loved him. I thought we didn't handle Freddy right," Garber said back in April. "He was a kid, and we pushed him, and the team pushed him, and I'm not sure that was the best thing for Freddy. He wasn't ready, the league wasn't ready. We needed something ... I hope he's doing O.K."
Adu's $500,000-a-year contract made him the highest-paid player in MLS, while he also secured a million-dollar deal with Nike and famously appeared alongside Pelé in a Sierra Mist advertisement. Every aspect of his career quickly became performative, to the point where, in his own mind, he may have lost all connection to the sport itself.
"Everything just kind of happened so fast," Adu told CBS Sports Golazo in 2023. "...All of a sudden, my name just started getting bigger and bigger. People started to recognize me, and once we went to the U-17 World Cup [in 2003], right after that, it just kind of took off. When I signed with Nike and MLS, everything just kind of blew up after that."
"I remember how incredible I thought everything was," Adu said. "Because that was the dream, right? The dream was always to become a professional soccer player. I achieved it so young. I was so happy. My family was taken care of. It was an extraordinary time."
"But I would have told [my younger self], 'Set all the distractions aside and focus on your craft.'"
The pressure to meet the expectations of others, both professionally and financially, was ultimately something Adu couldn't withstand. He lacked the tools necessary when thrust abruptly into the spotlight. By 2007, his career began to unravel. He lost his passion for the game. He was shuffled from club to club, playing for 15 different teams—including Sullivan's Union—before bringing his career to a close in 2021 with third-tier Swedish side Österlen FF.
MLS learned from its mistakes and has taken additional precautions with Sullivan over the past two years, gradually introducing him to the first-team environment and carefully managing his exposure to the spotlight. "I think we're more thoughtful about how to manage a player's career," Garber added. "How do you get the coach, the technical director, whatever relationship you have with his manager and his family to be sure that you're a caretaker of his future?"
Welcome to the show, Cavan Sullivan. ✨
The 14-year-old becomes the youngest player to debut in MLS history. pic.twitter.com/qbgjh4QRns
But now that Sullivan is earning more significant playing time, having become a regular starter following the World Cup, it's as though all the protective barriers MLS had erected around him have come tumbling down at once.
It's a fervent fanbase that has only intensified this week following Sullivan's inclusion in the U.S. men's national team's fall roster, where he is expected to feature in some or all of the four friendlies against Peru, Chile, Canada and Mexico beginning later this month. Should he earn his debut, he will be the youngest debutant since—you guessed it: Adu. He also recently surpassed Adu's record for most goal contributions by a player aged 16 or younger in a single season (10), registering his 11th earlier this week with a brace against San Diego FC.
The similarities between the two players' early careers are remarkable. How can Sullivan ensure they don't share the same ending?
Preserving Sullivan's Career Isn't All Down to Him
The responsibility should not rest on Sullivan's shoulders alone. It falls on every staff member, coach and mentor in his circle to check in on him and manage his overexposure to the league.
Interim manager Ryan Richter has elevated Sullivan to a full-time starting role, and the winger has vindicated his coach's decision repeatedly over the past several months. It's no longer necessarily his playing time that needs to be managed in terms of protecting his long-term career. Rather, it's the time he spends in activities away from the pitch.
It's easy to get swept up in the excitement of hype. It's thrilling. It generates revenue and attracts new supporters. Nevertheless, his exposure to the media—both social platforms and the press—should be kept in check, as should, perhaps, the media coverage he consumes about his own performances. The outside world and its endless pressures can only intrude so far when proper boundaries are established.
When it comes to integrating Sullivan into the USMNT—an even higher level of competition and an even brighter spotlight—Pochettino plans to proceed with care.
"The most important thing is that we need to have a clear idea how to—I don't want to use the word 'help'—but yes, be with him and try to provide the best platform for him to evolve every day," Pochettino said following Thursday's roster announcement. "We need to be the people that go there and push to evolve [but] sometimes put the limits."
It will be a careful balance of not overwhelming Sullivan, while ensuring that he is "encouraged to keep going, doing what he's doing."
"We need to make him keep believing [in what] he's doing, but also trying to show that he's about to really work hard and evolve because it's all about growth," Pochettino added.
Sullivan possesses immense potential. It will be up to those around him to help him fulfill it.