EXCLUSIVE: After 16-year-old Liverpool talent Rio Ngumoha scored a sensational winner against Newcastle United, another former English prodigy has offered a warning to his family
Rio Ngumoha of Liverpool celebrates scoring his team's third goal during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Liverpool at St James' Park on August 25, 2025 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Rio Ngumoha became Liverpool's youngest ever Premier League goal scorer
(Image: 2025 Getty Images)
Rio Ngumoha's wide-eyed, ecstatic celebration against Newcastle United could become an image enshrined in Liverpool history.
Just four days before his 17th birthday, the teen sensation whipped in a sensational winning goal to secure a vital 3-2 away victory for the Reds over the Magpies. But before the inevitable tsunami of endorsement offerings and media opportunities reach him, former top prodigy Sonny Pike has warned his family to do everything they can to shield him from hangers on and other parties who want to profit off his talent.
Back in the 1990s, when he was only 14, Pike was nicknamed 'the English Maradona' and had endorsement deals with the likes of Paul Smith, McDonalds and Mizuno.
All of those deals, as well as numerous media and television opportunities with the likes of Blue Peter and Fantasy Football were agreed with his father – a builder who had no interest in football before Pike's talent was spotted – despite the youngster wanting to focus solely on improving.
On the pitch, Pike had garnered the interest of Ajax, who regularly flew him from his Enfield home to Amsterdam, where he trained with the likes of Wesley Sneijder and Rafael van der Vaart.
But the immense pressure and outside interference chipped away at his emotional wellbeing. The final straw came when his father signed him up to star in a television documentary, where a camera crew filmed him while he was on trial for Chelsea.
Young English football prospect Sonny Pike on an episode of Fantasy Football, wearing an Ajax shirt when he was only around 14 years old
Pike was a child when the football world was already tipping him to become the next Diego Maradona in the 1990s
What they thought was a programme about his jaw-dropping talent as a child turned out to be a documentary called 'Coaching and Poaching', which heavily suggested the Blues were trying to sign him while he was on the books of Leyton Orient.
An FA tribunal banned Pike from playing football for a year – a decision which killed his love for football and all but ended his career before it really started.
While the events around Pike's tumultuous childhood are extreme, his story is a warning to the families of young talents who prioritise financial and commercial benefits early on over their talented child's football development and mental health.
Sonny Pike, the ex child football prodigy, poses for a portrait on the steps of his new one-to-one teaching academy he has built on land next to a stables near Enfield on March 19th 2020 in North London
Sonny Pike's story is a cautionary tale for those with talented young children
Speaking exclusively to the Liverpool Echo, Pike, who now runs his own one-to-one football coaching academy, issued an important message to Ngumoha's family and other people who have similarly talented children. He said: "Looking at my whole journey, I would say this is a sprint, but it's with hurdles.
"It's not a 100-metre dash. This is a marathon with hurdles. Getting him on the pitch might be the first hurdle, but then you've got all the dramas that come with it, all the fame that's going to come with it.
"It’s also about how their families react to all the attention as well, because it's not just him. There'll be people trying to get into his mum and dad or his cousins and everything else. It's just all sorts of layers of pressure, coming in from different angles.
Rio Ngumoha of Liverpool celebrates scoring his team's third goal during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Liverpool at St James' Park on August 25, 2025 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Ngumoha's career looks set to take off(Image: 2025 Getty Images)
"It will be, 'Can we do this? Can we do that?’ People coming in here, money, everything else, sponsorships and that. But to be fair, with Ngumoha, I haven't seen too much media attention, so it seems to be from the outside looking in, they're doing a good job with him off the pitch."
The composure, technique and sheer ruthlessness of his finish at St. James' Park suggests Ngumoha, who was signed from Chelsea in the summer of 2024, has everything it takes to succeed at Anfield. As well as finding the net on Tyneside, he also scored a wonderful goal in a 4-1 pre-season victory over Athletic Bilbao.
When it comes to matters on the pitch, Pike has no concern about Ngumoha. Instead, as it was for his tragic childhood, it's what goes on at home which will be key.
Rio Ngumoha of Liverpool interacts with Arne Slot, Manager of Liverpool, following the team's victory in the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Liverpool at St James' Park on August 25, 2025 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Pike is confident Ngumoha is in safe hands at Liverpool(Image: 2025 Liverpool FC)
He added: "If they're good enough to play, I don't really see much on the age side of it. For me, it's more the environment and how they're looked after off the pitch. That's what I think all the time.
"The main thing is controlling the environment around them. By the time I was 15 I'd had four or five agents by then.
"It’s a big difference. Can they get people around them to help manage the pressure, because they're going to get a lot of people around them that want to be around them just for their own benefits."