Lazar Markovic released at 32 after failing to fulfil Ronaldo and Messi comparisons

Lazar Markovic is a free agent once more after Apollon Limassol confirmed his departure following the expiry of his one-year contract, the latest chapter in a career that never came close to matching the extraordinary expectations placed on him as a teenager.

The Serbian winger joined Liverpool from Benfica for £20 million in the summer of 2014 under manager Brendan Rodgers, arriving with a reputation that prompted former Chelsea and West Ham boss Avram Grant to place him in rarefied company. “I can say that apart from Ronaldo and Messi, Markovic is one of the best talents I’ve ever seen at 19 years of age,” Grant said at the time, having worked with the player during his formative years at Partizan Belgrade.

Those comparisons proved impossible to live up to. Markovic managed just three goals in 34 senior appearances across five years at Anfield, spending large portions of that time out on loan at Fenerbahce, Sporting CP, Hull City, and Anderlecht. His Liverpool career is now regarded as one of the club’s most costly recruitment errors — Dr. Ian Graham, the club’s former director of research, wrote in his book How to Win the Premier League: The Inside Story of Football’s Data Revolution that CEO Michael Edwards considers the signing his biggest regret.

Former team-mate Kolo Toure had spoken warmly of Markovic’s attitude shortly after his arrival. “Since he came here, he hasn’t had a lot of chances to play, but he’s shown great character and worked hard in training,” Toure said in December 2014. “He is a great boy, works hard, is very quick and technically is very, very good.” That application in training, however, never translated into consistent output on the pitch.

Markovic left Liverpool on a free transfer to Fulham in January 2019 but failed to earn a permanent deal at Craven Cottage. He returned to Partizan Belgrade that summer and enjoyed a modest revival over three seasons before moving to Turkish side Gaziantep in 2022. Apollon Limassol was his fourth club in four years, and at 32 he is now without a club for the fourth time in that same period.

The arc of Markovic’s career serves as a reminder of how rarely teenage potential — however glittering — translates into the elite-level consistency that once seemed his destiny.