Former Dutch international Rafael van der Vaart revealed how he snubbed a move to Barcelona at the age of 16, opting to prove his worth at Ajax Amsterdam.
Van der Vaart, 33, was one of the brightest stars of his generation but despite firm interests from some of Europe's biggest clubs, he chose to stay at Ajax from 2000 to 2005 where he amassed 117 appearances, scoring 52 goals in the process.
Now in the twilight of his career with FC Midtjylland, Van der Vaart is worried about the trend of young players making the move to a big club too fast.
"Barcelona wanted to sign me when I was 16," Van der Vaart told Noordhollands Dagblad.
"But I never even considered a transfer. I felt that I had to make a name for myself at Ajax first."
The Dutchman finally left Ajax for Hamburg in 2005 before going on to play for other prestigious clubs like Real Madrid, Tottenham Hotspur and Real Betis.
With youngsters like Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Donyell Malen and Javairo Dilrosun all choosing to leave Ajax in favour of a move abroad, Van der Vaart is worried that these boys won't fulfil their potential.
"That is my advice to promising youngsters in the Eredivisie as well, to show what they can do in the Netherlands first before making the move elsewhere,
"You see that there is a lot of hype about youngsters these days, they get all sorts of praise after a few games.
"It's the same in the Netherlands. You play a few good games and you get called up for the national team and are being linked with big clubs."