West Ham defender Aaron Cresswell has discussed his devastation as a young teenager when he found out he had been released by Liverpool.
The left-back has spoken of the heartbreak he experienced after being let go by the Liverpool Academy at the age of 15, having not considered the idea that he wouldn’t make it as a player at the club he loved and supported.
He told the Telegraph: “My dad told me in the car. I couldn’t get my head around it at first. They pull the parents to one side and tell them, ‘It’s not to be but it’s not the end.'”
“My dad said, ‘It is not the end of the world. Go back with your mates. Just play with a smile on your face and enjoy it’. That’s what I did. I went back with the lads.”
“As a kid, you are in a bubble of playing for Liverpool. It was all I had done for two years and I had enjoyed it so much. It wasn’t about a job, or thinking, ‘I won’t make it’. It was about playing for the club I supported. Everyone around me was a Liverpool fan. It was just purely for the love of football.”
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After leaving Liverpool, Cresswell went straight back to playing for the Sunday league team that he had previously played for.
After spells at Tranmere Rovers and Ipswich Town, the 26-year-old now finds himself as a first team regular at West Ham and, more recently, a member of Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the upcoming international games.
The response to his early setback has been admirable and we can only congratulate him on his success.
His ability to overcome his rejection at Liverpool at such a young age and make it to where he is today, recognises how tough he is both mentally and physically.
Good luck with England, Aaron.