Godfrey still out to prove people wrong

Ben Godfrey is at an adidas photo-shoot at Altrincham football club, alongside players from Everton and Manchester City. He is more reflective than most. For some Premier League players, this is a far cry from what they are used to. For him, it is a reminder.

"It takes me back to my York days," Godfrey tells Sky Sports as he surveys the stands, the cabins and the local advertising boards. "This is where it all started for me."

At 24, he is already an established Premier League player with Everton and a senior international with England. The caps are at home. "Until my family come around and have their hands all over them." But before all this, his career in the game was in the balance.

Godfrey was released by Middlesbrough. "It felt a little bit like the dream was over." After that, there were trials with Barnsley, Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds United. None led to a contract. "For them to say no was a massive confidence-breaker, really," he adds.

"It looked like the end of the journey."

It was a comment from a coach at Leeds that set him on a new path.

"The moment that stands out massively is after that Leeds United trial. The coach told me they were not going to offer me anything but to go and prove him wrong. That stuck with me. I was desperate then. I could not wait to go and prove them wrong."

The process began almost immediately. "It started with hard work. Me and my dad would spend hours practising stuff at our local field nearby. I set out on that journey to prove those people wrong who had said no to me all those years ago.

"I was fortunate enough to have good people around me. My family always believed in me and kept me going. They were taking me up and down the country, reminding me that I had what it took to