Liverpool ace Sadio Mane has revisited his decision to chase a football career as a junior.
In an interview with Mundial magazine, the 27-year-old spoke candidly about his childhood in Senegal.
The Reds forward said: When I was young, football was the main thing of my life.
"As soon as I started playing, I fell in love with it. I wasn't interested in going to school anymore; all I wanted was to play football.
"From a very young age, I had a ball with me. I tried to copy Ronaldinho, a hero of mine. But my family didn't support me.
"To them, I was wasting my time, and I would have been better doing something else. Something useful."
Football was his "dream" but he had to make a significant sacrifice to realise it.
Mane said: "It was my dream. But I had no idea if it was going to happen.
"I also had no idea how I would do it. We were so far from the capital, and nobody ever came to the village to take players, so you had to make real sacrifices to do it.
"It was not easy for me. My question was always how? How can I do it?"
Mane found the answer. But it came at a price.
He explained: "I decided at a certain point that it was only going to be me that could make it happen.
"A lot of people wanted to help me because they knew I was a good player, but they just couldn't.
"They didn't have the contacts. Our village was too remote, and they didn't know how to help. But, luckily, I had someone.
"A friend who was looking out for me. He hid me from my parents and helped me to escape."
