FORMER Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah has admitted he used to cry on his way home from training as a youth star.
The centre-back, 27, joined at the age of eight and went on to make 151 appearances for the club before leaving for Como this summer.
But Chalobah has admitted he “never really liked football” as a kid and struggled in the early age groups at Chelsea.
He revealed how he was “playing catch-up” with Chelsea youth stars like and , who had joined the club a few years earlier than him.
Speaking to the Athletic , he said: “At Chelsea, I was in the same group as Declan Rice and Mason Mount.
“They’d been playing since they were five. I was always playing catch-up. It was so difficult.
“I used to come in from those sessions and cry in the back of the car of the scout, Ray [Rembridge], who’d brought me to Chelsea.
“I’d say I couldn’t do it anymore. Ray would give me the confidence, a boost — he helped me every day and gave me a work ethic.
“He said that nothing was easy in life and those words never left me.”
The international said he got into the sport after watching his brother play but didn’t have “natural ability”.
He added: “My brother (Nathaniel, now at Charlton Athletic) was naturally gifted, so he would always play football in the park.
“I never really liked football. I’d watch him and just do normal kid stuff.
“ saw my brother and took him there. I said, ‘You know what, I might as well just try playing this football and see where this goes’.
“I never really had the natural ability, I just watched my brother and learned from him.”
Chalobah had some great memories with his boyhood club after a handful of loans to Ipswich, Huddersfield, Lorient and .
He was a regular squad player for the Blues last season and played a total of 47 times across the campaign, scoring three times.
Chalobah won five trophies as a Chelsea player, including the and Uefa Conference League title last season.
Como signed him for a fee of around £31million after manager reached out and explained his vision.
But he insisted it was a “difficult” decision to leave Chelsea and said the club still “means everything” to him.
Chalobah has played a total of eight games for Como so far, starting six games in .
