13 footballers who overcame adversity to make it to top: Haller, Salah, Messi…

Essentially only needing a ball to play it, the accessibility of football has seen it adopted globally by millions who didn’t have the means for anything else.

As such, thousands came from humble upbringings to play the game professionally, while there are no shortage of top-level footballers who overcame real adversity to make it where they are.

These are some of the most inspiring stories.

“Obviously the last 18 months have been challenging for me and my family. I now take everything step by step and try to enjoy every moment. I don’t want to have any regrets,” the Borussia Dortmund striker told reporters ahead of Ivory Coast’s 2023 AFCON final against Nigeria.

“Given what has happened over the last months, it’s great today to be here in front of you and speak about the final. I want to enjoy it and hopefully tomorrow so will all the Ivorians.

“But I think it might take months or years to take it all in, what has happened over the last years.”

Twelve months after returning from treatment for testicular cancer, Haller scored the match-winner as Ivory Coast came from behind to beat the Super Eagles 2-1 on home soil. A remarkable moment in a remarkable comeback.

When Salah was 14 years old, he signed for El Mokawloon (Arab Contractors), a club that trained four and a half hours away from where he lived.

For five days a week, Salah would leave the house at 9am to make the nine-hour round trip for a two-hour training session, eventually returning home at 10pm to do it all again the next day.

Speaking to Liverpool’s official website, he said: “It wasn’t just taking one bus – I’d have to transfer buses three, four or even sometimes five times just to arrive at training and then back home again.

“As I said, it was a difficult time,