George Weah: “We were 14 sleeping in one room. My grandmother, ‘Emma,’ was in the bed, and the thirteen of us were on the floor.

George Weah: “We were 14 sleeping in one room. My grandmother, ‘Emma,’ was in the bed, and the thirteen of us were on the floor.

🎙️🗣️ George Weah: “We were 14 sleeping in one room. My grandmother, ‘Emma,’ was in the bed, and the thirteen of us were on the floor. My parents separated, and each went their own way. Grandma had gathered the whole family in one room and rented out the rest of the house for some money. Our only food was rice, just rice, and that was it. I was always hungry; hunger is something terrible.

I grew up among swamps and mosquitoes in the poor neighborhood of Clara Town near the port of Monrovia. I did anything for some money: played cards and smoked.

But I never stole, although if I had to
because of hunger, I would have done it.
I love football, and I owe everything to it.
When I started playing football in Africa, I wasn’t paid. I enjoyed it; I slept with the
ball and ate with the ball.

When I was in Milan, some of my
teammates played pool, and others read
football news on the sofas. Always
football. But this is not my life..

At the final whistle, football no longer
occupied my thoughts. I’d like to
remember the dëad from the civil wãr:
relatives, friends, cousins, and the kids I
grew up with, Throughout the years in Monaco, Paris, or Milan, I tried not to always remember that. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to play. I had to play and forget that pain for 90 minutes, but as soon as the game was over, my memory would return to Liberia.”
~~~The first African player to win the Ballon d’Or, George Weah❤️