John Bostock might just be the only footballer to have represented both Barcelona and Solihull Moors.
Now 32, Bostock, a top English prospect and Crystal Palace’s youngest ever player, is enjoying playing in the National League with the West Midlands outfit, who were formed the same year as when he made his professional debut.
The club are legitimately as old as his career, which began aged 15 years and 287 days at Palace – after nearly a decade in the red and blue stripes as an academy player.
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But although it may not be on record, Bostock also turned out in those famous colours over in Catalonia as well as Croydon when he was just 14.
"I played four games for them, Under 15's and 16's and scored two,” Bostock told SPORTbible in an exclusive interview.
“They offered me the deal. It feels like a lifetime ago, almost 20 years ago.
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"I played for Barcelona, you could say that - although I probably wasn't allowed to at the time because I was on the books of Palace and wasn't supposed to go."
Barcelona sent a scout over to watch Bostock in action against Chelsea’s Under 16’s, who weren’t short of top talents themselves, and the gifted midfielder had what he described as a “blinder”.
Other European giants clubs were also interested, including Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool.
Barcelona, who loved what Bostock and his cultured left foot brought to the table, offered a 10-year contract.
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"Apparently it's quite a normal thing out there,” Bostock revealed.
“They offer young players long contracts because of the way they are structured. It sounds quite severe and serious but I think it's the way they set up - it's just different to the UK how they do contracts.
"Barca will always have a place in my heart and it's a club I admire a lot."
Bostock appreciated the interest greatly and was honoured that a club of that size wanted to sign him.
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But while he didn’t put pen to paper, he did get a signature souvenir photo from his footballing hero, the one and only Ronaldinho – and it is still in pride of place to this day.
He said: "It's in my office! I've got a picture, it says, 'To John, from Ronaldinho'. They asked me who was my favourite player and I said Dinho or Messi. They told me to choose one and within a week I had a picture of Ronaldinho written to me.
"That's something I'll always cherish and it's something that clubs do when they try to get a young player - they try to impress them and show them some love. It's something nice to hold on to."
Bostock received strong offers from multiple clubs in England and ultimately decided to stay in London and sign for Spurs, who eventually paid £700,000 to Crystal Palace for his services after a tribunal.
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He became Spurs’ youngest ever player aged 16 years and 295 days but with household names like Luka Modric, Rafael van der Vaart, Niko Kranjcar, Jermaine Jenas, Wilson Palacios, Tom Huddlestone and Jake Livermore ahead of him in the pecking order, Bostock found first-team opportunities hard to come by.
Yet despite only managing four appearances across the Europa League and FA Cup, the former England youth international took a lot from his time at Spurs and felt he developed as a person and a player.
He struggled to comprehend the pressure which came with the “wonderkid” tag he had been given, having been touted as a prospect from an early age.
"It was an incredible learning experience for me,” he stated.
“I learned a lot about myself as a person and I think Spurs almost allowed me to die to the name of wonderkid - that's something I used to hold on to quite a lot subconsciously.
"People have spoken about it so much over my life, I tried to hold on to it so tightly. I've always lived like a model pro, never gone out and never drank - I've always desired to be the best I can be.
"But when you're trying so hard to be something other people want you to be, you can sometimes lose yourself.
"I made my debut at 16, became the youngest player at the time in the Europa League. I played with a future Ballon d'Or winner in Luka Modric and players like Gareth Bale but the process felt like a painful one in terms of moving on from what people expected from me.
"It was at Tottenham where I really got rooted into my faith as a Christian and met my future wife. I look back on it as a strategic time in my life and it helped form me into the man I am today."
While at Spurs, Bostock was loaned out to Brentford, Hull City, Sheffield Wednesday, Swindon and Toronto FC in a bid to gain vital experience and doesn’t believe there were “any wasted loans”.
But he is a little unfortunate in the sense that after he left, the approach changed, and the likes of Harry Kane and Andros Townsend were given opportunities.
Bostock added: "I didn't feel like I was ever going to crack the first team at Tottenham, although I believed I could. The opportunities weren't readily available to me.
"I left just before the young guns started to get an opportunity, I think it was Tim Sherwood, Chris Ramsey and Les Ferdinand who started to give your Ryan Masons, your Harry Kanes, your Andros Townsends, your Nabil Bentalebs - they started to get more of an opportunity when I left.
"I'm very grateful for my time there and being able to play with some amazing talent."
Gratitude is a big part of the person Bostock has become. He’s played for a total of 16 clubs in five different countries, including Belgium, France, Canada and Turkey and does not take his well-travelled career for granted.
After all, there are so many talented players desperate to make it as a footballer who just don’t see it happen, and so Bostock has no regrets.
He admitted: "I'm grateful to have played in so many leagues, I probably wouldn't have chosen it at the beginning of my career, but I played in cauldrons in Turkey, I played in play-off finals in Belgium and played at the Parc des Princes in Paris against some amazing players.
"I've experienced cultures which has taken me and my wife out of our comfort zones and has helped make me more complete as a person."
Bostock has added reason to have so much perspective as in 2017, his career and life was nearly taken away from him.
While playing for Lens in France, Bostock was given permission to travel back home to England after game in Paris and was involved in a horrific car crash that he was extremely lucky to survive.
Coming out of the Eurotunnel, a drunk driver more than twice the limit was driving the wrong way down the motorway and hit him head on at 70 miles per hour.
Although his car was smashed up, Bostock walked away “without a scratch” - with the passenger of the other vehicle sadly dying from the impact of the collision.
"When you're that close to death, it wakes you up again,” Bostock reflected.
“All I can is it's by the grace of God that I'm still here. I'm very grateful I was in the car alone.
"When you experience stuff like that it just helps you to reset and think why are you living. "When I look back, it was a close call but it wasn't my time."
Bostock has been back in England since 2019 and turned out for Nottingham Forest, Doncaster Rovers and Notts County, who he helped secure promotion to League Two in 2023 via a play-off penalty shoot-out win at Wembley in what he views a “real career highlight”.
After his contract expired following the end of the 2023/24 season, he had offers to continue playing in the EFL but headed back to the National League with relatively local side Solihull, who were only one kick away from securing promotion to the Football League last term.
Andy Whing’s men try and play football the right way as a lot of teams lower down the pyramid do, with Non League a breeding ground for lesser-known gems in terms of players and managers.
“I think clubs are looking down for talent because a lot of young players are given chances,” Bostock said.
"Maybe historically it was a bit of an older league, with older semi-professionals but now it's a real gateway for players to get exposure.
"And I think with the way football's changed, managers are trying to show their ability - teams getting in on the deck and playing it out from the back.
"Obviously you get some teams who try and be a bit more direct but the gap's a lot smaller and rarely did you see a team come up from National League into League Two and go back down. Look at Wrexham, Notts County, Stockport and Chesterfield, they're thriving."
Bostock, Player of the Season in both Belgium and France’s second divisions, has been playing professional football for more than half his life now.
So for how much longer does he intend on playing for?
"I've got a two-year deal here at Solihull Moors so my deal is up in the summer of 2026 so we'll see,” Bostock said.
“I've been in the game a long time and I love football - playing in midfield and breaking lines.
"There are other things in life, passions that are growing. Until it's my time, I'm going to do my best every time I cross the white line."
When it comes to passions, Bostock does have his fair share related to football. He has his own clothing brand while he also oversees ‘Ballers in God’, a community of Christian players which helps players discover who they are with online meetings every week and retreats at the end of the year.
In addition, he is one of the very first investors in Sokito, a forward-thinking, eco-friendly football boot brand that Premier League stars Alex Iwobi, Trevoh Chalobah and Ola Aina have recently got involved with.
Players are not paid to wear the boots but as investors, they are all in a WhatsApp group where they discuss all the key decisions as the brand tries to compete with Nike, Adidas and Puma but in their own way.
“I try to wear the boots as much as I can,” Bostock commented on his involvement.
"It's been amazing to see the growth and progression. I absolutely love boots and I've been boot spotting for years so when I heard it was possible to come onboard, it was exciting for me.
"I heard the whole sustainability side of it, which was a whole new ethos and it opened my eyes to my impact on culture and our world at large. I was able to see that actually I can make a difference.
"To see a boot come to fruition has been incredible. It's been a journey so far and I'm sure it will go a lot further.
"Now you see some of the names joining us. It's really grown, some really big names in there and ultimately, we have a community of people who are trying to make a difference and help bring exposure to the company. There's no egos, everyone has the same vision."
Topics: Barcelona, Tottenham Hotspur, Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace, Premier League, England, Ligue 1, Spotlight
Josh Lawless