These individuals who struggle through the rigours of life to get to the top, have overcome huge challenges in their lives.
Everything success story has a price, just like how Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Victor Moses, Alexis Sanchez and the likes.
Here are five superstars who overcame huge challenges to get to the top.
1. Alexis Sanchez
Coming through the dusty and polluted desert town of Tocopilla in the far north of Chile, Alexis Sanchez played barefoot in the street, but always believed he would make it to the top of the sport.
The Manchester United striker hardly knew his father, while his mother worked two jobs as a cleaner and a fish seller. Sanchez also hustled to make earns meet by washing cars outside the local cemetery.
Sanchez made his professional debut at 16, and securing moves to Udinese, Barcelona, Arsenal and Manchester United, but has never forgotten his humble roots and has long supplied children in Tocopilla children boots and balls, as well as paying for real pitches to be built.
2. Sadio Mane
The Senegal international endured living in cramped conditions in his early life in Senegal, sharing a house with nine other people with other people who never believed in his dreams.
Mane was so determined to play football, he disappeared from home for 10 days to the city of Dakar to pursue his dreams after collecting money from a friend. His family never knew where he was until his friend told them about his whereabouts.
The Liverpool striker was brought home and it was only after he agreed to finish his education that his family accepted being a footballer was his destiny. Now, he is among the very best African players.
3. Victor Moses
Victor Moses life was turned upside down at the age of 11 after his parents were murdered in the killings in northern part of Nigeria, he arrived in England as an orphaned asylum seeker.
Today, Moses is one of Nigeria’s most successful footballers, Victor Moses, now a Premier League champion and Europa League winner with Chelsea, as well as an Africa Cup of Nations winner in 2013.
He attended schools in south east London and was soon picked up by Crystal Palace, even earning national cap for England at the age of 14 after scoring 50 goals in a single season.
Moses played for Wigan in 2010, before joining Chelsea in 2012 and finally establishing himself at Stamford Bridge when Antonio Conte arrived as manager and loan spells with Liverpool , Stoke City and West Ham.
4. Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo left his home in the island of Madeira for Lisbon at the age of 12 in pursuit of his dream of making it as a footballer.
Things were not rosy for the future five time Ballon d’Or winner from getting expelled from school after throwing a chair at a teacher he accused of disrespecting him and was later diagnosed with a ‘racing heart’ after under going surgery to save his career before it had begun.
By the age of 18, he had signed for Manchester United and is now a Real Madrid legend.
5. Lionel Messi
As a child, Lionel Messi, was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency at the age of 10 that required expensive treatment which could only be covered by his family’s health insurance at that.
His club at the time, Newell’s Old Boys, promised to pay, only not to fulfill the pledge and Rivers Plate who wanted to sign him could afford to pay for his treatment, so he left for a trial in Barcelona.
On his arrival at Camp Nou, the board were initially reluctant given that he was only 13 years old at the time.
They eventually relented and Messi’s first contract was signed on a napkin, with his whole family relocated to Spain to facilitate his dream. The rest, as they say, is history.
