Dutch-born Ghanaian attacker Memphis Depay shared a profound moment during his official unveiling at the Neo Química Arena after signing with Brazilian club Corinthians.
The former Manchester United star opened up about the powerful experience of rediscovering his Ghanaian heritage.
Depay, who was born in the Netherlands, revealed that he didn’t reconnect with his Ghanaian roots until he was 23.
"I didn't get to see my roots until I was 23, because I never went back. Well, the first time I went back I was two years old, but then, you know, some things in life doesn't go how you want it, so I was raised basically without, you know, my father and everything, but it built me, it built character, you know, and then when I went back to Ghana, started to find out about my history, from my African part because my Dutch part, I know," he told the press.
"So my African part, it was quite powerful. The blood that I carry is from Ashanti Region actually. It's a tribe in Ghana which is powerful. We are warriors. If I'm in Ghana, you have very beautiful places in Ghana, very rich people, but you have also very poor, the controversial is like this.
"And I go in both places and I try to help because I'm blessed with some gifts and stuff like that. And that's why I'm connected. I feel connected and I see the similarities here. If you have a platform like I do, I try to speak on it. I try not to shy away because, okay, you see me with a suit, nice tie, whatever, but I'm also doing behind the scenes a lot of groundwork,"