It’s Monday, 18th May 2015. The Premier League season is but a week away from its conclusion, as already-crowned champions Chelsea travel to the Midlands for an evening fixture with West Bromich Albion. A match made arguably more memorable for a Cesc Fabregas red card in which he booted the ball at Chris Brunt’s dome from all of 25 yards out, it also propelled up and coming forward, Saido Berahino, to fourteen goals on the season, level with Chelsea’s Eden Hazard. A memorable 3-0 win for the Baggies comprised of an elegant brace from the young forward. The first; a sumptuous strike into the bottom-right corner from outside the box. The second; a clinical finish from the spot. The potential was oozing out of the Burundian-born forward. Pace, agility, strength, finishing. It appeared Berahino was set for a long, flourishing career in England’s top flight. Fast forward six years, and the majority won’t even be able to say who, or even where, he plays his football.
Glad you asked. Charleroi’s the name. Yes, the very same southern Belgian city that hosted England’s historic Euro 2000 victory against Germany. Take a brisk stroll north-east from the central Place Charles II and, with any hope, you should stumble across the gritty Stade du Pays, current home of the now 27 year old, Berahino. Good luck finding him, though, as the previous seven games for top-flight Charleroi has seen the forward on the pitch for a mere eight minutes, and this is not as a result of injury. Following his release from Stoke in 2019, the attacker has, thus far, failed to make a major impact in Belgium. Two, relatively underwhelming, seasons at Zulte Waregem resulted in a loan move to his new found home of Charleroi prior to the start of this season. The forgotten trail of a footballer once sold to Stoke City for £12 million, now struggling to find minutes for Belgium’s mid-table Charleroi. Where did it all go wrong for Saido Berahino?
Let us start at the beginning, where a four year old Berahino was left fatherless following his death in the Burundian Civil War. An estimated 300,000 people died during this conflict, with far more recorded in the bordering nation of Rwanda, at a time when genocide was rife. Burundi ranks as one of the poorest countries in the world, with roughly 80% of its inhabitants far below the poverty line. His passion for football has always existed. Very few who have graced the Premier League started life crafting a ball out of shopping bags and rubber bands but, for Saido Berahino, that was his way of playing the sport.
At the age of ten, with the crackling of guns still echoing in the air, young Berahino fled his native country to go in search of the rest of his family, who had found refuge in Birmingham. A near 6,000 mile solo voyage for a ten year old is particularly difficult to fathom but, somehow, someway, he reached the Midlands. It was far from the smoothest arrival. Unable to locate his mother, and without knowing a word of English, he was placed into a care home. His mother, Lilliane, was soon traced, and a DNA test was administered to confirm their relationship. Following verification, it was time for Berahino to put his harrowing past behind him.
It was not before long that people started to realise the immense potential of the fledgling footballer. Having began life with Phoenix United, an inner-city youth club, he signed for the West Bromwich Albion Centre of Excellence in 2004, and would remain with the club for a further 13 years. Upon signing his first professional contract, it was to spawn a series of loans to the lower leagues. The initial; a twice-extended loan with Northampton Town. It was successful, too, as it gave many their first glimpse of the exciting forward. Too good for League Two, evidently, as a move to the league above with Brentford was next on the agenda.
Four goals in eight games, although short, was undoubtedly sweet. That is, until an argument with the then new manager Uwe Rösler abruptly ended the loan in West London, foreshadowing what is to later come. The tour of England’s finest municipalities continued, and ended, in Peterborough. A Championship club this time around, it further illustrated the rapid progress the young finisher was making. His spell in Cambridgeshire was far from eyebrow raising, but it opened the golden door as the Premier League soon beckoned with his schoolboy club, West Brom.
With limited options in the forward position, the then 20 year old was given a plentiful amount of first-team opportunities, having scored a debut hat trick against Newport County in the League Cup. A progressive season soon ensued, with the catalyst being a memorable winner against Manchester United at Old Trafford. Berahino’s career in football was flourishing and, as it appeared, peaked the following season. A formidable fourteen goals in the league earned Berahino the club’s Player’s Player of the Year. As his confidence on the pitch continued to soar, his off-field activities brought about doubt in the back of West Brom’s mind.
Regrettably, Berahino’s electric form coincided with numerous drink-drive offences, for which he was arrested in November 2014. With the club remaining cautious on how to handle the situation, and with their reputation quivering on a knife-edge, it was in manager Tony Pulis’ mind that it would be perhaps wise for them to listen to offers from other clubs. At a time when Berahino was playing his best football, with an England call-up rumoured too, it was his nonsensical behaviour away from the pitch which marred his playing career.
The summer transfer window of 2015 brought an influx of talent to the Premier League, as both Kevin de Bruyne and Anthony Martial arrived for sizeable sums. Great speculation surrounded the Berahino saga, too, as he looked certain to make the switch South to Tottenham Hotspur. This was to prove the catalyst in an ever-evolving story, as a series of rejected bids angered the forward to levels that would have such serious repercussions. Only recently has Berahino discussed his turbulent past with West Brom, a past that squeezed every drop of talent out of him, until talk of big-money contracts changed his attitude towards football.
“I’d been criticised for an interview where I said I’d like to move on to bigger things in the future – but whatever profession you’re in, if somebody offers you a promotion, you’d take it”, explained the Burundian in a recent interview with FourFourTwo. This is unequivocally true, but the way in which the situation was dealt was nothing short of childish and senseless. As the Midlands club rejected a fourth offer of a little over £15 million, the forward took to Twitter to vent his anger at chairman Jeremy Peace, stating that he would never play for the club again so long as Peace is still there. Far from the wisest of moves, it was a hefty blow to Berahino’s reputation, as he was soon vilified by much of his own fanbase. An upsetting fall from grace for a young man who never quite made his dream move to Spurs, he instead dropped off a rather large cliff in his following, and final, season with West Brom, finding the net on just four occasions.
Was Stoke to be the answer? No, as it turned out. It was, however, to be a memorable move for a somewhat negative reason. 913 reasons, to be exact. That’s how many days Berahino went without scoring for his new found home following a £12 million move. Two years into his career in the Potteries, and with a goal yet to be netted, new manager Paul Lambert sent him to the Under-23s as a result of more poor discipline. With relegation confirmed, Berahino was again a Championship player, and his run of days without scoring finally came to a dignified halt. It was relief more than anything else, as his dire slump had finally concluded. Where was that ruthless finisher of yesteryear? It had died in West Brom. His uninspired attitude continued to cause fury, and a further arrest for drink-driving, this time in London, was to be the final nail in the coffin, as his contract with Stoke was soon terminated. Next, and final stop: Belgium.
Waregem, more specifically. Having been a constant face in the British media, combined with his switch to play international football with Burundi, it seemed an appropriate time to make a move to a different nation. A two-year contract with Zulte Waregem was agreed in the aftermath of his departure from Stoke, with a debut goal suggesting a degree of promise. That promise was dashed for a further time as a little over a year later, he was loaned out to Charleroi following an uninspiring season-and-a-half in West Flanders. With minutes hard to come by, and injuries arising fairly frequently, the hope he looked to re-establish has almost, yet again, faded. A mere two goals in thirteen appearances thus far, it does not brew a great deal of optimism towards the 27 year old.
Now that the water has settled, Berahino recently stated that "I’d like to return to England, I’m not the person that people think I am. I dream of going back to The Hawthorns. The way the fans took to me and chanted my name was unbelievable, and the way it ended was disappointing. I have regrets.” A heartfelt confession. One of which portrays the story of someone who knew they had the whole world in front of them, only for past mistakes to decimate such potential. As it reinforces on his Twitter profile; ‘For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?’ This is the story of regret. The story of what could have been. The story of Saido Berahino.