'Croatian Messi' once chased by Chelsea and Liverpool joins minnows on free transfer after being axed by Jose Mourinho

THE 'Croatian Messi' has joined a third-tier team in his hometown after his axe by Jose Mourinho's Roma.

Ante Coric, 26, was expected to become one of football's top talents after bursting on to the scene as a youngster.

He was wanted by the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City in England while Barcelona and Bayern Munich were also keen.

The Zagreb-born midfielder spent four years as an academy star at Red Bull Salzburg before returning to Croatia to join Dinamo Zagreb.

There, he was named in Gazzetta Dello Sport's 2017 '30 Best Under-20 Players in Europe' and won four league titles, leading to his Lionel Messi comparisons.

And he was even part of the final 23-man Croatia squad at Euro 2016.

But in 2018, Roma won the race to sign him, paying £5.2million to land the rising star on a five-year deal.

However, Coric struggled to make the step up and managed just three first-team appearances.

The playmaker then went on loans to Almeria, VVV-Venlo, Olimpija Ljubljana and Zurich.

And he was left unemployed in the summer when his Roma contract expired with no extension offered by Mourinho's Serie A giants.

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But now the four-cap senior Croatia international has found a new club.

Coric put pen to paper with Kustosija, who play in Croatia's Druga NL third tier.

The Zagreb-based outfit currently sit seventh in the table and play at a stadium with a capacity of just 2,550 - a far cry from Roma's iconic 70,000-seater Stadio Olimpico.