Former professional football player Dean Forbes may have missed out on a career in the sport but has made huge money since moving into the business world.
At the age of 17, Forbes was once on the books at Crystal Palace but found himself in an awful position.
His family had lost their home, he was the primary carer to his mum, who had just lost her job.
Meanwhile, Forbes started to build up a mountain of debts as he looked to stay within the big spending lifestyle that his friends have indulged in after making it as footballers.
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As a result, he decided to accept a job in a Motorolla call centre, since then, his fortunes began to change.
20 years later, and after putting in the hard graft, Forbes has risen up the ladder.
The former Palace player went on to become the CEO of Forterro, a major software firm which was bought for a huge $1 billion last year, which took Forbes’ net worth up to £40 million.
Speaking to the Business Chief, Forbes said: “I describe the start of my career journey as a twice-homeless failed footballer who found himself doing telesales to service a mountain of debt that he'd accumulated to keep up with football friends.
“I’m really grateful for that debt because it meant I had to fail at football quickly in order to get into the professional working environment.”
He added: “Both times were very difficult for our family. We went into hostel accommodation and the second time, we came out of it by breaking up the family. I was of age so I left home and had to go and make my own way.
“That was around the Motorola time, so I left home which meant my mother needed a smaller place which we were able to find more easily. Four years later, I was actually able to buy her a home.”
Looking back at his time in the Palace academy, Forbes said: “I look back now and realise I can't say I dedicated my life to it because my friends who went on to have great careers, there's a complete contrast in the way we approached football
“I enjoyed it. I loved it so much and the part that wasn't helpful to me is that it was just a group of my friends from similar estates, so I just laughed six days a week and messed around, played football when it was time to play football, but I wasn't dedicated to it.”
Topics: Football, Crystal Palace, Premier League
Marcus Chan