Crysencio Summerville, Al Hilal's new star, had a turbulent journey to stardom after being ordered to community service for assaulting a teammate and enlisting his brother's help, leading to struggles in England due to language barriers and a street mentality.

Summerville faced setbacks, disciplinary issues, and the experience of living abroad at a young age on his journey from Feyenoord's academy to the English Premier League.

At Leeds United, Summerville had a standout season under Marcelo Bielsa, moving ahead of former Al Ittihad player Helder Costa and Ian Poveda in the Uruguayan's plans, earning a call-up to the Netherlands U21 team.

He noticed his life changed once he played in England, saying: 'When you walk in the city, everything revolves around Leeds United. Tickets for every home game are sold out, the fans are very fanatical. If you're a player, everyone recognizes you in the city. I can't have a quiet meal or a drink.'

But before reaching the English league, Summerville had to overcome challenges at Feyenoord. In December 2018, while playing in the club's academy, he was suspended after a locker room fight with teammate Mats Noster, and his brother was also involved after being called.

Feyenoord suspended him until January 1, 2019, imposed the maximum fine allowed under his contract, ordered him to perform community service, and arranged additional psychological counseling sessions.

Summerville apologized to Noster, his family, and the Feyenoord U19 team. He later spoke about his mistakes and personal growth, saying: 'Everyone goes through a youthful phase sometimes, we make mistakes in life, but now I feel positive, I've left the past behind. Some bad things happened, but we move forward, yes, that's also part of growing up.'

Mats Noster

Dirk Kuyt, who coached Summerville in Feyenoord's U19 team, recognized his talent but wanted him to improve his discipline. He said: 'I tried to teach Cry what it takes to reach that high level. He was a huge talent, but it was difficult for him because he sometimes arrived late to training or didn't give 100% in matches. I often told him that he could get away with it now, but later in his career it could become a big problem. Even back then, I believed he could succeed in the Premier League.'

Kuyt continued: 'I had great confidence in him. I kept repeating to Cry that if you're late off the pitch, you'll also be late on it. That mischievous smile always appeared on his face when that happened. That's why I worked hard with him to change that behavior, because his skills are so rare. It was about making him realize it would be a shame to waste his talent.'

Summerville grew up in South Rotterdam and started playing football at club Noordereiland at age four before joining Feyenoord's academy two years later. His background shaped his mentality.

Erwin van de Looi, his former coach with the Netherlands U21 team, said: 'Cry comes from a tough area in the Netherlands. It's a survival-of-the-fittest area where you either sink or swim. That helped shape Cry's character, and you can see that in his determination to prove people wrong.'

Kuyt added: 'I was disappointed when he left Feyenoord, but he needed to get away from Rotterdam. In the area Cry comes from, it's very easy to go down the wrong path. I'm sure he knows people who were affected by that, and I didn't want Cry to be one of them. So going abroad and leaving his comfort zone helped him.'

Summerville joined Leeds United in 2020 and scored 25 goals in 89 matches between 2020 and 2024. After scoring 19 goals in 43 league matches in the 2023-2024 season, he won the PFA Championship Player of the Year award.

His move to England was not easy at first. Summerville admitted that the first six months at Leeds were tough due to the language barrier, living conditions, and being away from family and friends: 'I have to say I was hesitant when I had to make the decision, because it was a big step, and it really was. I'm a boy from South Rotterdam, a street kid. I barely spoke English, then you go abroad at age 18. No one really knows this yet, but I want to be honest. During the first six months, I went through a very difficult period. At that time, I called my agent almost every day. I told him I wanted to go back to the Netherlands, that I didn't like the situation here. I said I simply don't want this, I want to go back home.'

He acknowledged that his background affected his behavior during that time: 'I don't know if I was a difficult boy, but perhaps I had my own issues in the Netherlands, and that's also related to the neighborhood I grew up in. South Rotterdam, sometimes things move a bit faster, and you have a certain street mentality. I brought that to the club too. It wasn't always a smart thing to do, but now I think differently about the choices I make, my actions, and my thoughts.'

After joining West Ham in August 2024 for £25 million from Leeds, Summerville continued his development, scoring 5 goals and providing 4 assists in 22 matches, including becoming the first West Ham player to score in five consecutive matches since Jesse Lingard in 2021.

His good performance was linked to his ambition to secure a place in the Netherlands squad for the World Cup, which indeed happened. He started in two of four matches, scored two goals and provided two assists. He has 37 international appearances for youth teams from U16 to U21, but only 6 for the senior team.

In 2025, Summerville faced a new controversy when he admitted to driving a Mercedes GLE 63 while disqualified and uninsured, resulting in a £10,000 fine and an additional driving ban.

Advertisement material

Advertisement material