It has been a tough five years for Charlie Scott, but now he is firmly back on his feet. He fell out of love with the game following his release from Manchester United, the club he had been at since he was six, and slipped into a dark place.
Scott was suffering from depression as he struggled to come to terms with life beyond United and developed a gambling addiction that left him penniless. Thankfully, he's in a much different place now, in more ways than one.
For the past two-and-a-half years, he has been plying his trade in Hong Kong, acting as a trailblazer for English football in Asia, where he is one of the star players in the league.
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"You don't really hear many people going from England to not just Hong Kong, but even Asia," he tells The Manchester Evening News over a video call. "You don't hear of many people going for it. If anyone out there has that offer, I would advise them to definitely look into it and maybe take that opportunity up.
"I never heard of anyone, especially at my age, going from the academy, falling out of the game, then going straight to Asia. If there is anyone out there who has the chance for a scholarship, part-time work, or a job. I'd definitely advise them to take it, not just for the football side but for the actual way of living, the experience, and the memories you'll make."
Scott is still more than happy to talk about his time in the youth system, where he spent 14 years of his life, and sees his tag as a former United player as a compliment to the hard work he has put in so far.
He had been on trial with Derby and Stoke from a very young age, but despite supporting Liverpool, it was an offer to join United at the age of six that really captured his imagination.
"The main standout from my team now is Marcus Rashford. We didn't see it as being either me or him. We're friends, you want to help each other. I'm not saying people don't want to help each other now, but it's not cutthroat like football now. I always want them to do well. Marcus is obviously playing so well, and Scott (McTominay) is doing well. People always ask me, 'are you jealous?' It's not jealousy. I feel pride and excitement at watching them do well. If you see jealousy in your mates, then they're not your mates. They're rivalries."
Scott looks back fondly at those years cutting his teeth at Carrington, where he lived the dream of playing football with his friends for one of the biggest clubs in world football.
But as the years went on he gradually began to take notice of the wider picture. Sure, he was still there enjoying his football and taking every day as it came, though the older he got the more alert he was to the ruthless nature of the industry.
"Growing up, people come and go, which is difficult. Every year there's five or six people that get released or leave to another team. At that age it's difficult because you don't understand what's happening. When you're 10 years old, players get released and you just don't see them ever again. I had people who were important to me growing up that I didn't ever see again, which is sad really."
Scott is the first to admit he was never the most talented player in his age groups, and he was aware more than most about just how fine the margins were between getting another chance or being released.
The older he got the more it felt like a fight for survival, but it is credit to him and his work ethic that he continued to do so.
"I realised at about 15 or 16 you're fighting for full-time football. When you leave school fighting for a scholarship, a professional contract. I was always the last person in my age group to find out if I'm being released or if they offer me a deal.
"When I was about 16, they offered me a two-year scholarship contract. I was obviously over the moon with that. But it is worrying at that time because you don't know what you're going to do after it.
"You don't realise what's the next step, not even just football, in life. Do I need to go to college? Do I need to go to study? I never thought too much of it, but looking back now it is dangerous, you need a backup plan. You need something in line as the next step so that if something doesn't go your way, which happens a lot, not even in football just in life."
Scott admits even he didn't follow his own advice and didn't really have any specific plan in mind just in case things didn't turn out the way he had planned.
He was a regular in the U23 side during his final year at the club and had been integrated into first-team training from the age of 18.
At an awkward crossroads in his career he was loaned out to Scottish side Hamilton Academical, but after an unsuccessful spell there it was clear change was needed.
Scott was released in the summer of 2018 and wasn't even invited back to the club to say his goodbyes. He was left alone, helpless, and without any idea where to go next.
"I think without my parents, I definitely wouldn't be here today, as cliché as it sounds. I fell out of love with the game for about two years and was in a dark place. I didn't know where I wanted to be, or if I wanted to play football again. Didn't know what I wanted to do in life."
Scott's father had selflessly sacrificed so much of his time to give his son a chance in the first place. He'd awaken at 5am in Stoke, drive an hour to Birmingham for work, drive back to pick up Charlie from school later in the day, and then head up to Manchester for training. They'd be home for 10:30pm, and his dad would be up again the next day to repeat the cycle.
Now his father was put in the uncomfortable role of feeling helpless as his son struggled to come to terms with his United exit and the sense of guilt that he had let down his family.
"I felt like there was no one I could turn to. I think now it is different. I feel like there have been changes made by the PFA which is good. It is quite easy to fall into a dark place. I was at United for 14 years, that's like three quarters of my life: the same routine over and over again every year. I didn't know anything else.
"I'd love to have had more support, but I don't blame anyone. It's difficult because you get released at 20. You don't know what to do and you don't know where to go. You don't know what the next step in life is for you. It's not just happened with me. I think it's happened with many, many young players."
He stopped watching football on TV and wouldn't even join his friends when they invited him for a kickabout. From being a football-obssessed kid who only ever dreamed of playing the game, he now actively tried to avoid it.
All those years later, it was now Charlie's turn to join his father and his uncle on the construction site, as he spent two years out of the game entirely.
It was at this time he began drinking and gambling, throwing away his money as he looked for an escapism from the life that he was living. He started borrowing money and lost so much that his parents had to sell their car to look after him.
Scott was thankfully able to drag himself out of that unhealthy addiction pretty quickly by himself, but he sought professional counselling to try and overcome the sense of rejection that was affecting every aspect of his life.
It was not until he got an offer from local side Newcastle Town, a Staffordshire team in the Northern Premier League, that he finally returned to the pitch.
"I was like... 'okay.' I had some mates from school there. So I thought, 'why not?' I'll just go give it a go. The main step was just to find that love again, just to just appreciate playing football and find that enjoyment of playing with your mates, laughing and joking.
"I ended up playing there for about six months. I felt happy. They gave me the opportunity to fall back in love with the game. The next step was realising I just didn't want to play at that level. I wanted to go again, go as far as I can possibly could.
"Then the lifeline came over from Hong Kong. When I had the phone call from my agent, I didn't think it was true."
With a fresh appetite to try and make it as a professional footballer Scott focused on his fitness again and looked to practice whenever he got the opportunity to do so.
There were offers from Europe if he wanted to step back into the game, but it was an approach from Hong Kong top-flight side Happy Valley that really caught his imagination.
It was not only a chance to return to football, but it was a chance to have a totally fresh start on the other side of the world.
"I didn't know anything, I'd never been to Asia before or known anything about football in Hong Kong. I didn't know what to expect. It was like jumping into a dark hole.
"I thought it might be a good opportunity, not just for football, but to start a new life, make good memories, and experience new cultures in new environments. I was looking at the football side, obviously, but then at the same time, the life experience as well.
"Before I left United, I went on trial at so many clubs. I went to 15 clubs and they all said no. I think that's when I fell into the dark side, I just fell out of love with the game. I think that's probably because I thought I'd been at Man United. I'm just going to walk into any team now.
"When Hong Kong came, I thought, 'I'm going to go for it, no questions asked. I'm going to move to the other side of the world alone and just get my head down and try and find my feet again.'"
It has proven to be the making of Scott in the sport he now loves once again, but it was far from easy from the start as he struggled to adapt to his new surroundings.
"The first few months I hated it, I wanted to come back to England. I didn't like the food, so I wasn't eating. I didn't like the weather, it was too hot, too humid. I felt like I was dying on the football pitch. There there was also the pressure of coming to Hong Kong as a former Manchester United player.
"Everyone had high expectations, which I don't mind. That's going to follow you around anywhere you go. I'll always be a former Manchester United player.
"I rang my agent, rang my mum, rang my dad. I was speaking to my mates saying I want to come home and they told me no. They said I should stay there a couple of months just to see how I would get on and that I might grow to enjoy it. Thankfully that's what I did. I stuck with it and gradually became more involved with the culture, more involved with the food, the environment. I really kicked on.
"I think one day I can remember just waking up and thinking I need to do this, not just for me, but for the people that have helped me over the years. To just turn around and give up, it would have been disrespectful to my parents and family that have supported me all that way. I remember thinking it's not just me, it's everyone that's wants me to do well."
He began to take Cantonese lessons twice a week and would soon meet his now fiance, Kannas Svetlana Wu. He has grown to love the lifestyle and the completely different life experience it has given him.
It's not been without pressure though. Scott joined Happy Valley as their star signing, and for the first time in his senior career, he had to come to terms with the fact that he was now the key man and not just another member of the squad.
"I signed for Happy Valley, who are one of the smaller sides in the league. I can remember saying to my parents that my goal for the debut season was to get my name back out there, play well and hopefully sign for the biggest team Kitchee. I had written that message on my phone when I first arrived. I wanted to get my name out there and sign with them the next year. That was my aim.
"I joined the team and, no disrespect to anyone, I actually knew I was their top player. Again that is more pressure because they're relying on me to help get them good performances. I've never thought like that before. When I was young, playing as a team, I was always just someone, I'd never been the star player who people looked up to expecting them to win games. That was a new experience for me."
This long-term thinking was crucial in staying positive despite off-field turmoil at his new club. Happy Valley were so troubled financially they were unable to participate in the current Hong Kong Premier League season. Scott was playing for free, having his accomodation paid for but not a salary.
His dad joked that he'd have at least been getting paid had he stayed in construction, but deep down his parents worried about whether he had made the wrong decision.
Scott was relaxed though. He knew that if he kept working hard his reward would come.
"No disrespect to Happy Valley but I knew I just wanted to just finish the season with them and move on as a stepping stone. I didn't want to tell them I wasn't aiming to be there next year because I thought that would be that disrespectful, but that was in my head. Thankfully I went on to play a lot that season, and I won Players' Player of the Season and was named in Team of the Season.
"That summer, Kitchee rang me and said we want to offer you a two-year contract. I have never looked back since. I feel like the level I'm playing at now is very good. The top team in Hong Kong, they play in the Asian Champions League.
"It was a massive stepping stone, but I felt like I was comfortable to make it. I felt confident in myself and I took it with both hands and took it in my stride. I've been here two years and I'm just going to see where it takes me. I'm still 25 and just at the start of my career."
Scott's parents have been unable to head over to Hong Kong to visit him since he moved there back in the summer of 2020, during the global pandemic.
Next month they will finally get to see him in action when he plays two matches, the first time they will have seen him play live in years.
Right now he is not too worried about his future and wants to embrace the present, playing football with the love of his life in a country that suits his needs.
It's a world away from those 5am starts to head to the building site.
"At the moment I'm quite happy in Asia. Obviously my family and friends are back in England. Right now, I feel like I've found a new Charlie.
"Coming to Asia, I feel like I've found myself again. I'm just enjoying life out here. I've grown to like it. I've started to learn the language and the culture, adapt to the weather environment.
"I feel like now is the perfect time for me."
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