I Was Never Regarded As A Big, Big Talent, Cyriel Dessers Reveals

Out-of-favour Super Eagles striker, Cyriel Dessers has revealed that he has never been regarded as a big talent and that made him a better footballer.

Unlike most footballers who started their professional football career at age 17, Cyriel Dessers started his career at 19 years old playing in local clubs in Netherlands and Belgium from 2014 to 2019.

His first above-average club was KRC Genk in Belgium which he joined for a transfer fee worth €4 million on July 1, 2020.

Cyriel Dessers had his best moment in football on loan at Feyenoord during the 2021-2022 season in which he led the club to the European Conference League final. Unfortunately, the Dutch side lost the final to Roma.

Dessers joined the Italian Serie A club, Cremonese, on August 10, 2022, for a transfer fee worth €6.50 million which was the biggest transfer fee ever paid for his services.

Unfortunately, things didn’t work out well for the 29-year-old Nigerian striker at the club, and had to move to Scottish giants, Rangers, for a transfer fee worth €5 million on July 6, 2023.

“When this club is in full force, you really realize how big Rangers is, it’s massive, it’s unbelievable”, Cyriel Dessers said on a UEFA Europa League feature.

Since the Belgian-born Nigerian footballer joined Rangers, he has played 41 games in which he provided 7 assists and scored 16 goals in all competition.

“I was never regarded as a big, big talent – this path actually made me stronger and made me who I am now”, Cyriel Dessers said.

“It is not a sprint, it is a marathon and I think my career is one of the best examples of that.

“I became a pro football player quite late.

“I saw the other side of life that is why I try to enjoy the special moments in football even more.

“The things you can do, the places you can see, it obviously makes it special.”

He added, “There are so many good football players in the world but how many can say they played in a European final?”

Note that Cyriel Dessers made his international debut for the Super Eagles of Nigeria on October 13, 2020. Since then, the out-of-favour striker has scored a goal in four appearances.