Mehdi Benatia: 'I realised then I was on the way to losing everything'

The former Roma and Bayern Munich defender has had an excellent career by anyone's standards, but things looked to be going in a very different direction when he was a youngster.

Admitted to France's academy of excellence, his country of birth, Benatia found himself expelled from the program due to behavioural issues.

"At the time, I had big troubles in the school. I did not want to do any school work, I also had some behavioural problems. I was - in inverted commas - a complete idiot." the centre-half admitted to the 'BBC'.

"Honestly, it was bizarre to go home and see my mother and father who were really very angry with me,

"I realised then I was on the way to losing everything, and that my dream of being a footballer might slip away if I continued along that path. It was because of that I changed. I had to redeem myself.

"Some take a motorway and always drive straight while others get lost along the way, take the wrong path and come back - but the most important is to reach your destination. I managed to arrive where I am dreamed of being, so I am happy and proud about that."