What a journey our guest has had. From choosing to make himself homeless at a young age to chase his dream of becoming a footballer—sleeping in stands and knocking on club doors for trials—to eventually reaching the Premier League.

After plenty of kebabs along the way, Chris Samba lands at Blackburn and smashes his opportunity with a standout trial… despite nearly taking out Martin Olsson in the process. Under Big Sam, he quickly becomes a stalwart—part rock-solid centre-half, part makeshift striker.

A move to Russia might sound bleak on paper, but with some eye-watering bonuses on offer, Samba wasn’t exactly worried about keeping the heating on.

This show is sponsored by Talksport Bet

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices