A LOW BA

Chelsea icon Demba Ba recalls being rejected by Gillingham and Barnsley as skint teenager as he begged for money to eat

FORMER CHELSEA striker Demba Ba revealed his first contract was worth just £900-a-month and he was rejected by a host of British clubs as a teenager.

The Paris-born Senegalese international had a difficult start to life as a professional footballer.

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Ba moved to England after Ralf Rangnick resigned at HoffenheimCredit: PA

Starting off in France, Ba earned himself a contract worth £900-a-month at fourth tier side Rouen - but recalls having to borrow money just to feed himself in the first month.

Speaking to The Athletic, Ba said: "My first contract at Rouen (in the French fourth division) had been for €1,063 net, per month, and I had to borrow €300 in the first month for food."

Ba had trials at the likes of Watford, Barnsley, Swansea and Gillingham as a teenager, but never ended up getting offered a deal.

The 36-year-old says the teams felt they already had players like him in the squad.

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He continued: "Ninety per cent of the time, the feedback I got was, ‘We have the same quality of player in the squad already.’

"They didn’t realise that I was training twice a week with amateurs at the time, not six times a week with professionals.

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"I was told, ‘You’re not good enough’, but I didn’t want to hear that that, to me it was, ‘You’re not good enough for me’.

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"I just refused to give up. I remember writing letters to the top 40 clubs in France, by hand, asking for a trial.

"I never thought about rejection, only the next chance.”

Ba's most fruitful spell in England came at Newcastle

Despite the early rejection, Ba eventually had a successful career in England after making a name for himself at Hoffenheim, playing for West Ham, Newcastle and Chelsea.

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Although the forward didn't win any major honours at either three clubs, he maintained a prolific goal scoring record.

Ba scored 50 goals in 122 games for his English clubs, before moving on to Turkish side Besiktas in 2014.

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Ex-Chelsea striker Demba Ba quits Swiss side Lugano after just 48 minutes of action for new club
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