Issa Cissokho, the FC Nantes defender from Senegal, shared the challenges he faced during his early football career in an interview with the newspaper “Goal! Nantes.” He opened up about his difficult beginnings in Orléans, where he considered quitting football due to financial struggles.
Cissokho described the hardships he endured: “Frankly yes, I didn’t like it anymore. When I was in Orléans, I told myself that I was going to stop playing football. I had no financial means. At times, I didn’t even know where to sleep at night. I had three training sessions a week, sometimes I had to cheat the train. It was complicated for 6 months, a year… You arrive in Orléans, no one comes to pick you up, it wasn’t easy! Then there’s the return home… Today when I think back on this period, I’m really happy to have gotten through it, to the journey I’ve made.”
Despite facing significant challenges, Cissokho eventually signed with Nantes, and he reflects on that moment: “Already, when I signed my contract until 2016, I was very happy because I consider myself a survivor. I wandered a lot. I was really all alone. Nobody believed in me. In my neighborhood, when people saw me they would say: ‘It’s Issa, it will be CFA or CFA 2.’ Today, the fact of having arrived there surprised many, but people are more or less happy. I am very satisfied, and I can look at myself in the mirror. It’s up to me to continue this momentum.”
Cissokho’s journey serves as a testament to his resilience and determination to overcome adversity in pursuit of his football career
