Chelsea defender David Luiz has revealed how his dream of a football career could have ended at 14 years of age.
Luiz was on the verge of the soccer scrapheap in Brazil at the age of 14 when his local club Sao Paulo decided he wouldn't make it.
But a call from Vitoria - a club in the north-east, 900 miles from home - promised stardom and his poor parents refused to let anything get in the way of their son's dream.
"I begged my mum to pay for flight tickets because it was so far and I promised to pay it back," said Luiz.
"It had to be done straight away and, thankfully, she agreed to help me do it. I'll never forget that."
