Memphis Depay had a testing childhood. Born in the small southern Dutch village of Moordrecht his Ghanaian father and Dutch mother split up when he was four. Football filled the void of growing up in a “small village where there’s not much to do”, according to one of his childhood friends Gigi.

His tattooed body has helped to make him an online sensation. He has words dedicated to his grandfather down his left arm. His granddad was a big part of his upbringing up until his death when he had just turned 15. “That man gave me a lot of strength and took great care of me. At that moment I thought to myself, I’ve got to go for it. I know where I want to go, and that is the top.”

He also has a tattoo on the inside of his lip and has ‘dream chaser’ emblazed on his upper torso.

3) He’s a feared opponent

He is a fearsome striker of the ball with his right-foot but is usually used an as inverted left winger who cuts onto his right foot. A pacey and tricky player, his direct running makes him a difficult opponent for defenders.

4) He’s entered the Dutch record books

He became the youngest Dutchman to score a goal at the World Cup at the age of 20 and four months when he struck the winner for Holland in their group match with Australia in Brazil. He scored his second goal of the tournament (the same total England managed overall) when he added Holland’s second in a 2-0 win over Chile which sealed top spot in their group.

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5) He’s a troubled soul…

Memphis uses a life coach to help him cope with his inner demons. One of his early coaches at PSV once described the right-footed left winger as ‘very angry’.

…who still bears the scars

Memphis dropped ‘Depay’ as his shirt name to just ‘Memphis’ – an attack on his father who has been absent during his life.