I was in the street asking for coins and one woman pulled her bags close, like I would rob her
PALACE STAR MAMADOU SAKHO ON HAVING TO SLEEP ROUGH AS A CHILD IN PARIS
MAMADOU SAKHO is recalling his youth in the Parisian district of Goutte d’Or, the memories he has of sleeping rough and approaching strangers on the street for spare change.
There were times when hunger would hit because he could not afford to buy bread. Other times when coldness would take over as he searched for a spot to spend the night.
One memory stands out from when he was very young. ‘I was in the street, asking for coins, and one woman I asked pulled her bags close to her, like I would rob her,’ Sakho says, mimicking the action.
‘It shocked me. I just wanted some coins to buy bread but she thought I would rob her. I made a promise to myself. From that day, I said, “Look, today I am hungry and she thinks I will do something bad. But me, when I become someone, when I have something, I will give back”.
‘I know what hunger is. I know what cold is. I used to ask for coins so I could eat. It was my life when I was young. I don’t like to talk about it because I’m proud, you know?
‘We all have our own stories. My personal life story put me in this mood — to give back. When you have a little bit of popularity, you can use it in a positive way. That’s what I’m trying to do.
‘I don’t want to be an example to people. Never. I just want to inspire. Everyone grew up with his or her own story. This is mine. My story helped me become who I am and how I see life.’
True to his word, the Crystal Palace defender is building his own orphanage in Tamba, Senegal, where his late father was from. ‘I will call it Souleymane Sakho,’ he continues. ‘My dad’s name.
‘I knew I would become a footballer when I was 13, the day I lost my dad. I had family responsibilities on my shoulders straightaway. I became a man. For me, it was not an objective to become a footballer. It was an obligation.
‘ Someone asked me yesterday whether it was hard to become Paris Saint-Germain captain at 17. I said to him, “The hardest captaincy I had in my life was to be the captain of my family at 13”.’
Followers of Sakho’s Instagram will see him wearing Versace clothing and driving a Rolls-Royce, though this is a misleading portrayal. Behind those designer shades are the eyes of a 29-year-old who has seen it all.
Sitting in a darkened back room of Palace’s training ground and wearing a light grey Puma tracksuit, Sakho is coolness personified. He has a swagger about him but is also funny, happy and eager to ensure our photographer gets the shot he is after.
Sakho (below) has just finished training and is generous with his time, too, never sneaking a glance at the golden Hublot watch on his wrist. He wants to paint us a picture of what makes him tick.
His childhood was hectic. He had three brothers and three sisters and, as well as his time on the streets, bounced from home to home in Paris. ‘Eight or 10 places,’ he estimates.
Through it all, though, Sakho never lost his passion for football. Being a fighter is in his DNA — he likens himself to a ‘soldier’ during this interview — and he played whenever he could.
PSG, long before they became the giants of the game they are today, spotted and signed him at the age of 12. He went on to become their youngest captain before earning a call-up for the France squad and moving to Liverpool in 2013.
Yet in 2016, his career took an unexpected turn. Sakho failed a drugs test, though the doping case was later dismissed and it transpired he had done nothing wrong.
He had tested positive for a fatburner containing higenamine after Liverpool’s Europa League last-16 tie against Manchester United and UEFA banned him, pending an investigation. It was soon revealed, however, that the substance was not even on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s prohibited list.
But the damage was done: he had missed Liverpool’s Europa League final against Sevilla and Euro 2016 on home soil.
He struggled to win back his place for France and was not in the squad for last summer’s World Cup in Russia. He watched from afar as his fellow countrymen lifted the trophy.
Had he not been wrongly accused of doping he could have been there at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium.
‘I never regret anything in my life,’ says Sakho. ‘If something is for you in life, you will get it.
‘Even if all the world is against you, if it is for you, you will get it. If it’s not for you, why do you weep? I just follow my destiny. Life is short. Football is short.
‘We have to be positive. We are here to give smiles, a good spectacle. Everything in life, whether it’s good or bad, just take it and look at the solutions. You can stay in the same place and start to cry, but that will not change the future.’
For the World Cup final, Sakho was in Malmo, not Moscow, with Palace for pre- season. The squad were out for dinner and he stood up to sing the national anthem, clutching a France shirt. Those there say he continued to sing French songs through the night. ‘I’m proud of the team who made it,’ he says. ‘I know I have written one page of the national team but the story is not finished. The book is long. I always stay humble, I always work hard.
‘So congratulations to the players who made it but I am still going.
‘Even if the hard work does not pay off, you can look at yourself in the
mirror and say, “i tried everything”. i can turn the page.’
While France were in russia, sakho spent his early summer travelling through eight African countries, visiting schools, orphanages and juvenile jails as an ambassador of AMsAK, the charity he established.
He believes it is not right to simply send a cheque. ‘i could be in Dubai or Miami but it is so important to go to them, to speak to them, to give them hope. My charity is like my second job. i used to have a hard life but i never gave up. Hope is important.’
sakho hoped he would find success at liverpool but had a falling-out with manager Jurgen Klopp, who sent him home from their pre-season tour of the United states for not respecting rules. Klopp later revealed he had turned up late for a flight, then a training session, then a meal.
sakho was sold to Palace in 2017. He is thriving, sitting in the top 20 Premier league defenders for clearances, interceptions, blocks and recoveries of the ball.
There have been no disciplinary issues under roy Hodgson. He is well-liked at Palace, where he has a deal until 2021. He has a unique handshake for 18 different teammates and is working on one for chairman steve Parish. Perhaps a grand unveiling will be in order, should he sign a new deal.
His post-football plans are to study. ‘it could be in politics, in movies, in charities, in banking,’ he says, smiling with arms aloft. ‘i don’t know.’
For now, sakho’s focus is on the visit of Manchester United tomorrow. He also has an FA Cup quarter-final against Watford to look forward to. He won the league in France but has yet to lift a trophy in England.
That is the next target for this Frenchman from humble beginnings. Many a footballer has claimed he came from nothing. When sakho says it, he means it.