Italy Under-18 Forward Alessandro Arlotti Quits Professional Football For Harvard University

Alessandro Arlotti - a highly rated Italian youth international - has reportedly left professional football to study at Harvard University.

The 18-year-old attacker, who's scored for the Italian Under-17 team and been capped at Under-18 level, was most recently signed to Serie B side Pescara. Before that, he spent time as a youth player for AS Monaco.

However Arlotti has now apparently walked away from professional football in Europe and accepted a place at Harvard: the most prestigious university in the USA.

Arlotti's Instagram bio reads "Football player for Pescara & Italian national team". But his latest image is emblazoned with the Harvard University badge.

Presumably other challenging life decisions Arlotti has had to face include: whether to drive a Ferrari or a Lamborghini; or do I want to become a Hollywood actor or headline Glastonbury after I graduate?

Becoming a professional footballer is the dream for most promising young players. But Arlotti - who represented Italy at the Under-17 World Cup - has apparently put that aside for now, as he leaves Serie B side Pescara to study at the oldest Ivy League university in the USA.

Although this doesn't mean the end of the Italian teenager's football career.

The idea of promising athletes gaining college scholarships is of course common in US sports, unlike Europe. But Harvard University is far more renowned as a respected seat of higher education than a destination for future sports stars.

So presumably Arlotti has decided his future lies in learning rather than football for the time being.

We look forward to next hearing of Arlotti's progress when he becomes an astronaut, flies to the moon, but can't decide which supermodel to date when he returns to Earth.

Good luck in Massachusetts, Alessandro!