Aaron Cresswell has admitted that he was "devastated" to be released by Liverpool when he was a teenager.
The West Ham United left-back was let go by his boyhood club at the age of 15, but he eventually got his break at Tranmere Rovers, making his first-team debut in 2008.
Cresswell spent four years at the club before joining Ipswich Town on a three-year spell, and then the Hammers in 2014.
In an interview with The Telegraph, the 26-year-old said of his Liverpool snub: "I was devastated. As a kid, you are in a bubble of playing for Liverpool. It was all I had done for two years and I had enjoyed it so much. It wasn't about a job, or thinking, 'I won't make it'. It was about playing for the club I supported.
"My dad said, 'It is not the end of the world. Go back with your mates. Just play with a smile on your face and enjoy it'. That's what I did. I went back with the lads."
Cresswell's current form has earned him a place in Gareth Southgate's England squad for internationals against Scotland and Spain.
The defender is yet to receive a cap for his country.
Danielle Joynson
