In 2015, Aston Villa paid Barcelona 10 million euros for Adama Traoré. The winger, who had been playing for Barça's B team, set off for Birmingham to begin a new stage in his career whilst knowing that he could easily have changed sports altogether and ended up playing American Football in NFL.

According to Roman Saïss, his team mate at Wolves, Traoré told him that he had received several offers from NFL teams during his time in Barcelona's youth academy and that they had been impressed by his physical strength and speed. 

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Adama Traore

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"I remember saying to him, 'You run like an American footballer' and he replied that when he was playing for Barcelona, a number of NFL clubs tried to convince him to convert to playing American Football, after seeing how explosive he was", Saïss told RMC Sport.

"I've never seen Adama Traoré lifting weights"

"I don't do weight training. I know it's difficult to believe but I don't lift weights - it's genetic. I'm quite big for a footballer. I do exercises but I don't overdo it because I can become very big very quickly", Adama Traoré told Jugones recently when asked about his impressive physique.

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Those words were ratified by Saïss in his interview with RMC Sport. "I see him every day, we go to the gym together - either before or after training. Maybe he has a secret gym at home, but in training, he never pumps iron, whether it is bench-press or otherwise. He is huge and very quick. Some people say that with his physique it's impossible to play football", Saïss explained.

Traoré is enjoying the best season of his career so far. He has scored five goals and created another seven in all competitions, equalling his best figures set in the 2017/18 season with his previous club Middlesbrough in the Championship.