£10.5m Prem Ace Admits He Cried After Crystal Palace Turned Him Down

Bournemouth’s £10.5 million forward Antoine Semenyo admits he was hit hard when Premier League rivals Crystal Palace released him as a youngster before he climbed back up the levels.

Like another player establishing himself in the top flight – Calvin Bassey scored Fulham’s equaliser in last week’s famous win at Manchester United – Antoine Semenyo’s success is proof of the value of persistence.

Bassey never heard back from Palace after a trial at the London club. Semenyo, however, did. But he certainly didn’t get the response he wanted, the hard-running attacker left in tears after being told he was not up to the level required for The Eagles’ academy.

“I went to quite a few clubs and was told the same thing, that I wasn’t good enough. It’s tough as a kid hearing that,” Semenyo now tells Sky Sports.

“Palace hit me hard the most because I was there for so long. My trial got extended and I thought I was going to be signed – and it didn’t happen.

“I remember getting into the car crying and saying to my dad; ‘Why does this keep happening?’. I stopped playing football for a year after that.”

Now a regular at Premier League level with AFC Bournemouth, Semenyo’s story is an example for any young player feeling the pain of having the rug pulled from beneath his feet.

The Chelsea-born forward joined Bristol City in 2017 and, after loan spells at the likes of Bath, established himself in the Championship before earning a £10.5 million move to the big league after posting some highly-respectable numbers in the division below.

Semenyo, who tends to line up on the right of Andoni Iraola’s attack on the South Coast, has scored Premier League goals against Newcastle United, Aston Villa and Liverpool this season.

Ironically, there was reportedly interest from Crystal Palace before the 17-time Ghana international put pen to paper with Bournemouth in January 2023.

“I didn’t play any sport (after Palace turned me down),” Semenyo adds. “I put on a lot of weight, I didn’t think I’d be here. But God works in mysterious ways.”