Davinson Sánchez #23

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It can be tricky for South American players who are not from Brazil or Argentina to seal a move to Europe, let alone be greeted with great fanfare. “Who the hell is Davinson Sánchez?” asked one Tottenham fan online when the defender signed from Ajax in 2017. By then he had already won a Copa Libertadores medal with Atlético Nacional and enjoyed a bright start in the Eredivisie. He was Spurs’ record signing at £42m but had to win over his doubters before becoming a key part of the team that reached the 2019 Champions League final. But what if he hadn’t become a footballer? “I’m good at maths, so I would have studied something to do with numbers. I don’t know, something like engineering or administration,” he told Bocas magazine in 2018, the year he made his World Cup debut. Now a two-time Turkish Super Lig champion with Galatasaray.

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