From Donald Trump’s World Cup darling to European exile: The dramatic fall of Folarin Balogun

After his transfer to Everton fell through, he has been removed from the Conference League

Everton and Monaco ultimately failed to reach an agreement for one of the protagonists of the last World Cup: Foralin Balogun, a USMNT international striker.

The Merseyside club was one of many, such as Tottenham or even PSG, that hovered as candidates for the player, who, however, will not see his return to the Premier League completed. It should not be forgotten that he comes from the Gunners' reserve team, which he left in a €40 million transfer in 2023.

And not only that. Even though in the Principality he had his best campaign last season as a professional (19 goals and 5 assists in 43 matches last 2025-26 season), he has seen how his current coach, former Atlético player Filipe Luis, has not included him in AS Monaco’s official squad that will play in the Conference League league phase.

Why did he end up staying in Monaco?

The transfer market is uncertain. What seems clear can go wrong at the very moment before a signature is put down. All it takes is a bad feeling and one of the parties can back out.

Something similar may have happened with Balogun; at least, that is what AS Monaco CEO Thiago Scuro states, who according to L"Equipe, says that it was Falorin Balogun himself who did not want to sign.

As the French newspaper reports, Everton detected a medical issue that required a second opinion. Five minutes before the transfer window closed, Scuro had signed the contract, and so had the Toffees, but in the end it was the American who did not sign because he felt uncomfortable due to the distrust shown by Everton in the medical tests.

Despite everything, and given this situation, which has caused the Monegasque team to currently have an attacking overbooking, a move to a team in leagues whose transfer window is still open is not ruled out either.

A priori, the forward will not feature this Friday against Paris Saint-Germain; it remains to be seen what happens with him in the end.

One of the World Cup protagonists

If there is one episode that has defined Balogun's year, it is undoubtedly his run at the 2026 World Cup. The striker was one of the biggest revelations of the team managed by Mauricio Pochettino, and it was precisely in the round of 32 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina that he was involved in one of the tournament's most talked-about moments: after putting the United States ahead with a goal in the first half, Balogun was shown a straight red card in the 64th minute for a challenge on Bosnia's Tarik Muharemović, described as "serious foul play" after a VAR review.

The unusual part came afterward: FIFA, in an unprecedented decision that prompted a protest statement from UEFA ("crossed a red line," the European body even said), applied article 27 of its disciplinary code to suspend the enforcement of the sanction, leaving Balogun available for the round of 16 match against Belgium. The controversy escalated into politics, with U.S. President Donald Trump himself acknowledging that he had personally called FIFA president Gianni Infantino to request a review of the case.