Championship Manager star Cherno Samba reveals struggles

Former England youth international Cherno Samba has revealed how the breakdown of his move to Liverpool as a 14-year-old led him to attempt to take his own life years later.

The once highly-rated youngster was attracting interest from some of the biggest clubs in the country as a teenage trainee at Millwall and gained wider attention due to his status as a "wonderkid" on popular computer game Championship Manager.

However, a move to Liverpool fell through at the last moment and from there Samba's career lost momentum, before he ended up playing in Spain for Cadiz, where his struggles led him to attempt to take his life.

"I think it had an impact on my career throughout my career," Samba said of the failed move to Liverpool.

"It was non-stop. I was thinking about it. I remember when I went to Spain at first I couldn't sleep. I was sweating at night. I was having nightmares. I was dreaming. I was just a lost cause really.

"When I went to Spain I felt I'd failed. I couldn't even do it in my own country so I had to be shipped out to Spain, so that's when all the bad things came into my head again."

Samba's troubles continued to escalate and without the intervention of a Cadiz team-mate, he may not have been around to share his story.

"I wanted to just end my own life, that's how horrible it was," Samba continued.

"Luckily for me I had a friend in the team who used to come and pick me up to go to training. He came to pick me and normally he would call me and I'd come downstairs but he was calling my phone and I didn't pick up.

"So he said 'well this is a bit strange.' So he came up and he knocked on the door but no one answered so he broke the door in because he knew this wasn't right... He saw me lying there on the floor."

Having scored on his second appearance for England at youth level, Samba received interest from Liverpool, Manchester United, Leeds and Arsenal.

Despite the wealth of options, in Samba's mind there was only one club for him, making the eventual breakdown of the move all the more painful.

"Out of all the clubs I went to, Liverpool were the one," Samba said. "They were very professional. The way they just conducted themselves and the interest they showed in me."

"I never forget this. My dad called me and I came down to the kitchen.

"I just dropped on the floor and started crying, just like a little boy. It was tough times those days."

Thankfully for Samba, they are now memories that he is comfortable talking about and has overcome.

Following his time in Spain he returned to England and had spells with Plymouth and Wrexham, but was not able to fulfil his potential on the field as he retired at the age of 29.

However, at the age of 33, Samba is "very happy" with his life and has written a book on his experiences, which he hopes will help other youngsters who experience similar difficulties.

He is also focusing his energy on becoming a coach and is close to obtaining his UEFA A licence.

Play Super 6

Predict 6 correct scores for your chance to win £250K.