Former AS Roma midfielder, Joseph Bouasse Perfection has died at the age of 21. The Cameroon-born player suffered a heart attack on Sunday night (May 24) and died soon after.
Perfection never played for the first team of the Giallorossi after he was recruited by the club based in the Eternal City following an impressive trial less than two years ago.
Roma issued a statement on Twitter paying their respects to the fallen Perfection.
“The club is desperately saddened to learn of the untimely death of former Primavera player, Joseph Bouasse Perfection,” the statement read.
“The thoughts of everyone at #ASRoma are with all those closest to him,” the statement read.
Sevilla also joined in paying their respects to Perfection.
“Heartbreaking news. Our thoughts are with Joseph’s family, friends, and everyone at AS Roma. Rest in peace, Joseph,” the Spanish club wrote on Twitter.
Bouasse was reportedly trafficked into Italy in 2015 as a migrant according to ESPN. The detail goes on to add that he was left at a train station and was left to fend for himself in earning a career in football.
Having ‘fled’ his home country of Cameroon at the age of 16, he ended up showcasing his talent with Liberi Nantes — Italy’s only all-refugee team. Bouasse was eventually spotted, offered a trial and then Roma boss Luciano Spalletti invited him to first team training to see how he would match up against the club’s biggest stars.
After he signed a deal with Roma, he trained alongside the likes of Daniele De Rossi and Francesco Totti during his time in the Italian capital and featured 11 times in the club’s youth team.
Bouasse later spent time out on loan with Vicenza in Serie B in 2017 before his contract at Roma ran out in 2018.
He moved to Universitatea Cluj in the second tier of Romanian football in February of this year.
