He went from playing five-a-side on the streets of Nkawkaw in Ghana, to helping Middlesbrough win the only major trophy in the club's 145-year history, but George Boateng never forgot his roots.
At the age of nine, the fresh-faced youngster arrived in Holland to embark on a career that would see him go on to make almost 400 Premier League appearances and win the League Cup.
He told the BBC Radio Tees Sport Boro podcast: "I remember flying over Amsterdam, it was a cold winter in 1985, I think.
"I remember sitting on the flight and asking my uncle: 'Why have they put salt on the floor?