@FootynewsDeclan Rice admits he spent years feeling like the kid with a strange body. Long legs, hunched back, clumsy when running. At 14, he dreamed of playing professional football but it seemed like a joke. They rejected him from Chelsea. Not even in their youth teams did they want him. They looked at him as if he were a joke. And he just wanted to kick a ball, as he had done since he can remember. West Ham opened a door for him, but going through it was extremely hard. He had to leave his parents' house and move in with another family. The first nights he cried silently. He missed his bed, his routine, his parents, his world. He was completely disoriented. Over time he began to understand his body, to master it. He went from feeling shame to feeling power. They gave him the captain's armband in the under-18s. Then in the under-21s. And when he finally debuted with the first team, he knew that every tear, every rejection, had been fuel. Today he plays for Arsenal. In the Champions League. In the Premier League. In stadiums where before they wouldn't even let him train. It's not easy, nothing is. But he no longer has fear. Sometimes he closes his eyes and thinks about that boy who felt invisible. He would like to tell him: 'Hold on, brother. Your moment is closer than you think.'

@FootynewsDeclan Rice admits he spent years feeling like the kid with a strange body. Long legs, hunched back, clumsy when running. At 14, he dreamed of playing professional football but it seemed like a joke. They rejected him from Chelsea. Not even in their youth teams did they want him. They looked at him as if he were a joke. And he just wanted to kick a ball, as he had done since he can remember. West Ham opened a door for him, but going through it was extremely hard. He had to leave his parents' house and move in with another family. The first nights he cried silently. He missed his bed, his routine, his parents, his world. He was completely disoriented. Over time he began to understand his body, to master it. He went from feeling shame to feeling power. They gave him the captain's armband in the under-18s. Then in the under-21s. And when he finally debuted with the first team, he knew that every tear, every rejection, had been fuel. Today he plays for Arsenal. In the Champions League. In the Premier League. In stadiums where before they wouldn't even let him train. It's not easy, nothing is. But he no longer has fear. Sometimes he closes his eyes and thinks about that boy who felt invisible. He would like to tell him: 'Hold on, brother. Your moment is closer than you think.'