Cavan Sullivan doesn’t need his flash of peroxide blonde hair to stand out on the football pitch. The American teenage sensation has been catching the eye since he joined Philadelphia Union’s academy at the age of 10.
After years of admiring glances from some of the best football teams in the world, Manchester City won the race for Sullivan’s signature. The highly-rated forward signed his first professional contract with MLS side Philadelphia Union as a 14-year-old in May 2024, putting pen to paper on a deal that included a future move to the Premier League behemoths. Two months later, Sullivan made his senior debut to become the youngest player in MLS history.
Sullivan may have been born after the iPhone 3 was released, but he has already amassed a large body of impressive accolades. Not just any teenager can attract interest from the likes of Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich. Here’s everything you need to know about City’s star of the future.
The Sullivans’ family obsession with football can be traced back to Cavan’s grandfather Larry. Initially a keen baseball player, Sullivan Sr received a Purple Heart for his service during the Vietnam War but lost three fingers on his stronger left hand, so had to pivot to football when he returned to Philadelphia.
Larry Sullivan spent 17 seasons as the coach of Villanova University, where he recruited Jim Curtin, the current manager of Philadelphia Union, who engineered the acquisition of young Cavan. Curtin hailed Larry as “a friend forever, a great person and mentor I learned so much from”.
Cavan’s father, Brendan, also enjoyed his dad’s tutelage before moving to the University of Pennsylvania, where he met his wife Heike, a player on the women’s soccer team. While Heike continued to play in her spare time as she embarked upon a career in law, Brendan spent five years as a professional in the A-League, the defunct equivalent of the second tier of US football, before becoming an assistant to Larry at Villanova.
While breaking into the senior squad at such a tender age would be a special moment for any player, Cavan’s rise is made all the sweeter by the prospect of playing alongside his big brother. Quinn Sullivan is six years older than Cavan and has cemented his place as a first-team regular after making his senior debut for Philadelphia in April 2021, 12 days after turning 17. The Sullivan brood is completed by 16-year-old twins Ronan and Declan, who also play youth-team football.
The Sullivan Sons | |
|---|---|
Player | Born |
Quinn | 27th March 2004 |
Ronan and Declan | 28th November 2007 |
Cavan | 28th September 2009 |
Career So Far
Some of the best footballers had to work normal jobs before their talent was belatedly realised, but Cavan Sullivan has been destined for greatness since hitting double digits. The 10-year-old prodigy recalled: “I think that’s really when I thought: ‘This is happening.’ It didn’t feel real but definitely triggered something in my mind.” At 12 he was training with Borussia Dortmund before emphatically announcing himself at the under-15 Pinatar Arena Supercup in April 2023.
Sullivan prepared for the tournament in Spain by progressively waking up half an hour earlier each day to avoid the debilitating effects of jet lag. The planning paid off as the spritely 13-year-old scored twice on his debut for his nation in a 2-2 draw against England, which the USA won on penalties.
Earlier that same month, Sullivan had played a starring role at the 2023 Generation Adidas Cup. The prestigious international youth tournament pitted Philadelphia Union’s under-15s against some of the best academies across the world. Sullivan needed just 19 seconds to score the opening goal in a victory against Arsenal before leading the Union to triumph over their Real Madrid equivalents. After the tournament, the club’s senior head coach Curtin warned:
Those that maybe haven’t learned yet, a young Cavan Sullivan has the talent and ability to become, I’ll just say a household name and is doing really big things.
Sullivan intensified the hype he had fostered over April during the under-15 CONCACAF Boys’ Championship in the summer of 2023. The youngest member of the US team led his nation to the continental title with four goals as he was voted Player of the Tournament.
Shortly after turning 14 in September 2023, Sullivan was bumped up to Union’s under-17 side. That age bracket could only contain him until MLS entered pre-season at the start of 2024, as the precocious teen broke into Philadelphia’s second team.
Sullivan’s highly anticipated senior MLS debut arrived in July 2024. The Union’s 5-1 thrashing of the New England Revolution was already a memorable night for the family as Quinn Sullivan scored the final goal of the game with a ripsnorting drive into the top corner. Cavan was the first person to reach his older brother during the celebrations of his 84th-minute strike. During the same break in play, Cavan was ushered onto the same pitch as his sibling at the tender age of 14 years and 293 days, breaking the record that Freddy Adu had set in 2004, aged 14 years and 306 days.
Adu was a former prodigy unhelpfully nicknamed ‘the new Pele’. The American forward never came close to replicating the iconic Brazilian during a desperately underwhelming career at 15 different clubs (including two years in Philadelphia) before washing out in Sweden. Sullivan not only leapfrogged Adu but became the youngest senior debutant among any of the top North American professional leagues (MLB, MLS, NBA, NFL, NHL, NWSL).
Cavan Sullivan’s MLS Debut | |
|---|---|
Date | 17th July 2024 |
Match | Philadelphia Union 5-1 New England Revolution |
Minutes | 5 |
Touches | 5 |
Passes | 3 |
Shots | 1 |
Style of Play
Listed at 150lbs and 5’7 by the Philadelphia Union, the slight, left-footed forward quickly earned predictable and unhelpful comparisons to Lionel Messi. Unlike so many of the fallen wonder kids weighed down by links to the greatest football player of all time, Sullivan’s steely mental fortitude helps him block out the noise. “I don’t really listen to anyone, whether it’s good or bad,” he shrugged. “So it doesn’t really get to me whatsoever.” Union head coach Jim Curtin has been quick to deliver praise that Sullivan won’t hear:
When he gets the ball, it’s electric, something’s going to happen here. He’s going to do something that I don’t think of as a coach, I can’t teach as a coach, he’s going to do something outside the box.
The club’s sporting director Ernst Tanner flagged Sullivan’s “advanced soccer IQ” when reeling off his endless list of glowing qualities. Lining up as an attacking midfielder who is capable of drifting onto either flank, Sullivan’s vision and eye for a pass have been lauded. Many of the goals scored by the diminutive forward during his embryonic career have been poacher’s finishers, pouncing upon errors and tucking away loose balls from within the six-yard box.
Record-Breaking Contract
Philadelphia officially announced on 9th May 2024 that Sullivan had signed a homegrown contract stretching until 2028. This is a professional deal which doesn’t count towards the Union’s closely monitored senior budget. By falling outside the jurisdiction of the MLS salary cap, Philadelphia could afford to offer Sullivan an inviting economic package.
The 14-year-old reportedly agreed to the largest homegrown player contract in MLS history, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Sullivan’s deal averages out to more than $500,000 (£400,000) per season, surpassing another milestone previously held by Freddy Adu. After breaking his appearance record, Adu took to social media to (somewhat begrudgingly) congratulate his prodigious successor: “That’s a hard record to break and the kid did it. Well done and good luck my man.”
Future Plans
Few teenagers know what they will be doing in the next four hours, but Sullivan has the future four years mapped out ahead of him. Baked into his contract with Philadelphia is a clear pathway to the perennial Premier League champions Manchester City.
I guess my goal is just to become a regular player [for Philadelphia] within the next two years. Then after that, I would hope to be a starter. I guess that’s from the 16 to 18 age window. And then right when I’m 18 I hope to be at the level of the Man City first team.
The City Football Group – the sprawling multi-club project with Manchester City as its figurehead – will sign the teenage phenom once he turns 18. Without British citizenship, Sullivan can’t play professional football in England until he legally becomes an adult. The American teenager does boast a German passport thanks to his maternal grandfather, Klaus Krippendorff, who was a revered professor at the University of Pennsylvania. This dual citizenship would allow Sullivan to secure a loan move to one of City’s sister clubs in European football, such as La Liga’s Girona or Italian side Palermo, as a 16-year-old.
Sullivan had been scheduled to sign for Belgian side Lommel SK when he turned 16, according to The Athletic, before Philadelphia managed to convince CFG of their suitability. January 2028 will be the earliest window in which City can activate the $5m (£4m) clause in Sullivan’s contract to bring him to the Etihad. As a point of reference, Jack Grealish will be 32 by then.
So much has been said about Sullivan before he was old enough to watch The Matrix that some hyperbole must have coloured the analysis. But the most unbelievable thing to come out about the starlet fell off his lips. “I’m a pretty boring kid, to be honest,” the record-shattering 14-year-old snapped up by Manchester City said in all seriousness.
All stats via TransferMarkt. Correct as of 18th July 2024.