Nigeria midfielder, Kelechi Nwakali, said he had doubts in his ability as a footballer after missing one year of action due to paperwork issues while on loan at Portuguese side Porto and when he recently joined present club Huesca.
The 22-year-old who was the Golden Boot winner at the 2015 U-17 World Cup was shipped on loan three times by Arsenal who signed him after his exploits at the junior World Cup.
“There was a time, I was having doubt in myself, I wondered if I was not up to it anymore,” he told BBC Sport Africa.
“It was difficult mentally not playing for a year, so going through all of that and coming on the internet to see someone say, I am gallivanting, was hurtful, I was bothered.
“A lot of Nigerian fans had the impression that I am just sitting in Nigeria doing nothing.
“It is a new beginning, I have had my ups and downs, but this is the time to make it right again, this is the time to get it back on track. I felt bad that things are not moving the way I want them to and the way I have planned, but not because I was seeing my colleagues doing well.
“I have come to understand that people just want to be where it is moving fast and well, but life is about ups and downs, sometimes we just have to bring back our human feelings and support each other when things aren’t going well,” he added.
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