Liverpool striker Ekitic recently interviewed with BBC Sports. He said that when he was 14 years old, he was almost abandoned by the Lance youth training camp.

Ekitic said: "I remember when I was 14 years old, I was terrible, it was really bad, I had the strength, but it was always unrealistic, and I was unwilling to let things happen."

"I remember one time my parents told me that if this season was still the same, everything would be over and I would be cut by the team. In the end, this didn't happen because in my mind, I wanted to be the best player, so when I returned, I became very good. This made me focus and a turning point. I still had many turning points in my career after that, but it was the first turning point in my career."