Robertson, White and Eze released as teens but now starring in PL and worth millions

In what is arguably one of the toughest industries to break into, three top players have opened up on their journey from non-league to top flight football.

As part of an exclusive talkSPORT series 'It Was All A Dream… The Football Academy Journey', the Liverpool, Arsenal and Crystal Palace stars tell all about their difficult routes to the top.

'Nothing worth having comes easy', the old saying goes - and football is no exception.

While the youth game may be carefully controlled on the pitch, it's as brutal as the men's game off it with plenty of promising young players having their dreams of making it dashed and sometimes shattered completely at a tender age.

In fact, the majority of players in youth academies are deemed not good enough by their clubs to make it as a professional.

Robertson's story, in particular, has been well documented and it's one of will, determination and a relentless work ethic that saw him go from the third tier of Scottish football with Queens Park to Champions League glory with Liverpool in the space of seven years.

But White and Eze are two other stars to have come back from rejection to emerge as the cream of the crop, with a combined transfer worth of over £50million, according to Transfermarkt.

In a ruthless game, the trio has shown that despite all the setbacks you receive, it's still possible to play at the highest level of the game.

Robertson bounced back after he was released by boyhood club Celtic at the age of 15, and has opened up to talkSPORT on just how difficult that journey.

"The day I got released it was hard," said the Liverpool full-back.

"I went home, I cried, I made sure I surrounded myself with family and then the next day you go back into school.

"I felt a bit embarrassed going back into school and having to tell my friends, you didn't want to tell them the bad news because you know what you're like…

"You're a 15-year-old boy and you don't want to show your weaknesses and want to play for Celtic."

Similar to Robertson, Eze also had to endure the pain of being let go from the club he supported as a boy and always dreamed of representing at the top level.

The talented attacked was released by Arsenal as a 13-year-old, but is now one of brightest young England talents in the Premier League with Crystal Palace.

"I'm 13 at the time, and prior to this everyone was being offered two-year contracts and I was offered one, so immediately I'm already in tears about that.

"So that year's now over and I was called into a meeting and they told me, 'listen we don't think you're going to excel here'

I just remember before he even finished speaking I was already gone, in tears.

"You're trying to hold it in, you're trying to be grateful, saying 'thank you' and just trying to get out of there, but it was so overwhelming. I just remember walking down the stairs and thinking, this is the worst.

"My mum, she was there with me and she was extremely upset so it was like, where do you go from here?

"Arsenal being the club that I've supported and the team I've held dearly to me heart at this time, it feels like, 'wow what is next? What do I even do? Where do I go?'

"It was a real moment of loss at that time."

Eze was instead picked up by Queens Park Rangers after impressing on a trial. He played three full seasons with QPR, scoring 20 goals in 112 appearances, before he was snapped up by Crystal Palace in 2020 for a stunning £17million.

Eze's progress at Selhurst Park has been curtailed by a recent injury, but the club's new No.10 is gearing up for his return and ready to add to his impressive performances in an Eagles shirt.

These stories are all too common across the game, although it's not often one of these rejected players later signs for one of the country's biggest clubs for a huge £50m fee, and goes to a major tournament with England.

That's the story of Arsenal centre-back Ben White, who also discussed his difficulties after being released from Southampton as a 16-year-old.

"On the way from getting released I had a little cry," he told talkSPORT.

"I spoke to my mum for a bit and she said, 'do you want to continue? Because if it doesn't make you happy then there's no point doing it'.

"But I said to my mum I want to keep going and become a professional footballer.

"I think it's tough when you get released and you aren't wanted.

"Especially when you're young its hard to deal with. I think you either sink or you swim."

The moral of the story? Just keep swimming.