While most are scouted from young, not every player's journey to professional football was a smooth one. Lionel Messi is an example, having been rejected by one of Argentina's biggest clubs. Here are another nine high-profile names who were, at one point in their careers, turned down.
Click through the gallery above to see 10 household names who were rejected by clubs when they were young, according to The National.
Every young footballer dreams of playing in front of thousands on the biggest stage, but only a small fraction of players progress to the highest level. In fact, many professional players themselves faced hardships in their careers growing up, including Messi, who is widely considered among the greatest stars of all time.
It is claimed that after being scouted by River Plate in 1995, the club decided they would not sign him for their youth system as they could not afford to pay for his growth hormone deficiency medication every month.
Five years later, the Newell's Old Boys talent was snapped up by one of the biggest clubs in world football in FC Barcelona, who were more than happy to cover the costs of his treatment. Today, he is the Blaugrana's leading goalscorer in history, and has won a record six Ballons d'Or.
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While he was not necessarily rejected, Mbappe went close to signing for Premier League side Chelsea when he was 12 years old, but was asked to have a second trial. It is believed that this upset his mother, who refused to take him back to England.
Just four years later, Mbappe broke into Monaco's senior team and won the Ligue 1 title in the following campaign, before being sold to league rivals Paris Saint-Germain for a mammoth figure of €145 million (R2.8 billion), plus €35 million (R694 million) in add-ons.
Lethal Premier League goalscorer Harry Kane was reportedly released from Arsenal's academy for being slow and a little too heavy, a decision that might haunt the Gunners to this day. The 26-year-old perhaps has that in mind every time he goes up against Tottenham Hotspur's north London rivals as he has found the net 10 times in just 11 appearances against them.
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Ronaldo Nazario also features in our gallery, after Flamengo failed to cover his bus fare costs for the second trial he was asked to undergo, while the great Michel Platini struggled to make the grade twice at Metz before going on to become a world-famous superstar for Juventus and France. To see more of these incredible cases, click through the gallery above!
How much credit do you give these stars for coming back from tough times when they were younger? Let us know in the comments section below.
