Raphinha has revealed in an emotional interview how he almost gave up on his dream of becoming a professional footballer.

The Brazilian came from a poor background and also didn’t finish school. So, he had no option than to succeed as a footballer.

“When I was 18, I had been rejected by the academies more times than I could bother to count. Internacional, Grêmio, everywhere it was the same: a one-week trial and then an excuse,” Raphinha tells Players’ Tribune.

“He’s too small.” “He’s too frail.” “He’s got no power.” Always the same, man. Always the same.

“Just before I turned 19, I was training with the U-20 team at Avaí. They were based in Florianópolis, a six-hour drive north of Porto Alegre.

“I had never spent so much time away from home trying to get a contract. But then I got injured, and when I was fit again, I couldn’t get into the team. I didn’t even make the matchday squad. They told me to train on my own.

“Usually I would have gone back to the várzea community, because that was my home. I played well there. Nobody there told me that I was too small. In fact, I would often hear that, hey, if I really, really wanted it, I’d make it as a pro.

“But at Avaí I cracked. I called my parents and said that I’d had enough. I wanted to go home. I was done.

“My dad said he was fine with it. My mum, too. “But,” my mum added … “If you give up on your dream, you’ll have to get a normal job.” I was like, Hmmmmmm….

“The thing was, I had wanted to be a footballer since I was seven, so I never finished school. Which meant that I would have to find a job in a supermarket or a barber shop or something.

“I knew what that life was about, because my mum had changed jobs so many times. Her CV must have been the length of a book. Hairdresser, manicurist, seller of perfumes and clothes, receptionist, waiter, etc., etc., etc. Finally, she saved enough money to get a degree, and now she was doing what she loved, which was to work with children who had learning difficulties.

“She never gave up, you know?

“So she explained it all to me. She said that I would end up playing somewhere, and that every tough moment passes. She suggested that maybe, due to all these setbacks, I had forgotten what I really wanted in life, which was true.

“By the time we hung up, I remembered,” Raphinha said.

Raphinha’s career peaked at 21, even when he nearly gave up at 19. He’s now playing at the club of his dream, Barcelona.