Emmanuel Latte Lath: From Ivory Coast street football to a record MLS move and a Union Berlin reboot

Emmanuel Latte Lath has opened up on a journey that has taken him from street football in his native Ivory Coast to the most expensive transfer in Major League Soccer history and now a loan spell with Union Berlin, describing his childhood relocation to Europe as a life split in two.

The 27-year-old forward, who left Middlesbrough for Atlanta United in a deal worth more than £17m in 2025 — then a record fee for the American league — told BBC Sport that the eight-year-old boy who boarded a plane to Italy was frightened of what awaited him.

'I was a bit scared' — the move that split a life in two

Latte Lath was six years old when he learned he would be moving to Europe, finally making the journey two years later to be reunited with his father, who had already settled in Italy.

"I started to realise when I was on the plane and I saw people different than me, I was a bit scared," he said.

Leaving friends and family behind in west Africa was hard, but the reunion gave the pair a chance to build a relationship that distance had denied them.

"It was important because when I was born, it wasn't that close," Latte Lath explained. "He went to Italy to find a better life, so it wasn't that easy talking with him every time by phone. I was missing this part from my father.

"When I saw him, it was kind of a new life, new motivation to stay close to my father, and then everything started again. It looks like I had two lives."

Street rules, fights and the freedom he missed most

What he missed most was the football. Before Europe, Latte Lath had never worn boots and had never been part of an official team — he simply built a side with his friends and took on neighbouring towns.

"Me and my five friends, we just built our team and we would go to play against another city, there was like no pressure, nothing," he said. "It was just funny moments, enjoying football there, and it was quite competitive because it was almost every time finishing in some fights, so it was street rules. I was one of the most competitive.

"I missed it. Always together, being with my friends. It was really, really fun."

Those early experiences proved invaluable once he arrived in Italy, even as he struggled with the language.

"It was exciting to learn and to show my potential," he said. "It was difficult in the beginning because I didn't know the language, but I had a really good person who helped me.

"It was important for me because I didn't have too many friends there. But I was just there to play football and after go home, I know timing will come."

Atalanta, a goal against Juventus and eight loans

Latte Lath joined Atalanta's academy in 2015 and, two years later, scored against Juventus on just his third appearance for La Dea in the Coppa Italia.

"It's unbelievable, it's unforgettable. The emotion I had there, it's still the same when I'm thinking about it now," he said. "The week before I was home with my family, we were just laughing and they were saying, 'imagine if I go, imagine,' and one week after that it happened."

That proved to be his only goal for the club and the last time he wore the shirt competitively. Instead he embarked on a nomadic five-year journey, taking in eight loan spells with clubs in Switzerland and Italy's second and third tiers — a path familiar to many young players in Italy who struggle to break into the top flight.

"I think Italian football has always been one of the difficult football environments because it's a lot of tactics, a lot of rules also," he said. "So it doesn't let you express yourself because you have to play with too many or a lot of rules.

"So it was difficult also to make a step, but it was also difficult to maybe keep going with the steps I made, but this gave me power to make a different choice."

'A good coach and a good person': Carrick and Middlesbrough

It was after a prolific loan spell with Swiss club St. Gallen that a move to Middlesbrough materialised in 2023, where Latte Lath met head coach Michael Carrick.

"I found a good coach and a good person. It gave me straight away confidence," he said. "He was a calm person, a calm coach, maybe sometimes too much, but it was needed for us. He knew always when and what he should say to you in the difficult moment or in the good moment.

"So for me, I think in that point of my life, it was really important."

The confidence Carrick instilled in him helped Latte Lath score 29 goals in 67 games for the Championship club and earn a move to Atlanta United as the most expensive signing in MLS history at the time.

America, and a new 'power' in Berlin

His time in the United States did not live up to expectations, and in the summer he returned to Europe on loan at Union Berlin, where he has embraced both the city and the club's supporters.

"I arrived here and I am surprised because the fans' passion is crazy. This is something new for me. It gives me an extra muscle, another power to do well," he said.

"Berlin is huge, I love different cultures, and you can find different cultures and people. I think I can fit in because I grew up with different friends and cultures."