Southampton defender Mohammed Salisu has said that he used to play with bare feet while he was in Ghana.
The 22 year old claims that it was difficult to get money for football boots and didn’t have a choice than to play bare footed during the early days of his career.
Salisu said,
“I didn’t have a boot in my early years and played several times bare footed. These were difficult times for me as a young footballer and could not afford a pair of football boots”.
In an interview on Southampton TV, the young centre back claims he was determined to make it as a professional footballer and would do whatever it took to achieve his dream hence the pain of playing without football boots never deterred him.
“I knew I would make it in my professional career so I wasn’t worried at all. Although it was difficult playing without boots, my ambition drove me on”, he concluded.
Four years after making his professional breakthrough while playing for La Liga side Real Valladolid, the centre-back is yet to start an international career, having turned down previous opportunities.
He received his first Ghana call-up for the Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against South Africa and Sao Tome and Principe in 2019 but rejected the call-up for fitness reasons.
