A striker who was swept out by 6 clubs wants to help Crystal Palace win the FA Cup for the first time

was abandoned by Arsenal. He was terminated by Fulham and Reading. Trials in Bristol City and Sunderland, but in the end they were fruitless. He was told by Millwall: "Thank you, but no need." All of this happened before he was 18 years old.

For Eberreki Eze, it is easy to give up the dream of becoming a professional football player.

After all this young man from the low-rent housing district of Greenwich in southeast London, before he was 18 years old, had experienced pain, setbacks and devastating refusal in the football world.

"I remember a few months after being swept out by Arsenal (I was 13 years old at the time) I met Arsenal again in the game. All the emotions were coming to my mind. I couldn't handle the termination correctly," Eze said. "I don't know how to deal with this, and my tears were almost shedding." In 2016, Millwall told Eze that he would not get a professional contract after the two-year scholarship training period ended. Eze had to try to join Sunderland again, but ultimately failed.

His confidence fell to his all-time low.

The Queen's Park Rangers then gave him a chance—and history was rewritten.

In a dozen hours, Eze will represent Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final. If Crystal Palace beat Manchester City at Wembley Stadium, they will win the first important trophy in team history.

From playing football with friends in a cage as a child to representing England in the 2024 European Cup, Eze's story is full of resilience, determination, belief and confidence.

This is a journey full of refusal and hardship, which is very familiar to many young people who want to become professional players.

"I remember that feeling of loss," Ezer said of the setbacks he suffered when trying to find a way out, "but I kept asking myself, 'When is the next trial? When is the next trial?'"

Praying for a contract with Sunderland

26-year-old Ezer is at the peak of his career, establishing himself under Roy Hodgson, Patrick Vieira and current Crystal Palace coach Oliver Glasner.

He has scored 7 goals and 8 assists in the Premier League this season.

In addition, Crystal Palace's 12 goals in the FA Cup came from his hands, including a wonderful goal outside the penalty area in the semi-final last month, helping Crystal Palace beat Aston Villa 3-0.

After suffering so many rejections when he was young, he is reaping the rewards of "not giving up".

"I feel like this journey that I've gone through is forcing me to grow, improve, and be better," said Eze, who grew up in a Christian family and often goes to church.

"I know a lot of people who have been terminated by a club, such as being terminated by Arsenal, and then it's over - they no longer play football. I can only thank God for what I can achieve like this now. I may go anywhere and pursue any career, but my love for football has never disappeared."

After leaving Arsenal, Eze stayed in Fulham's youth training camp for two and a half years before being terminated. The failed trial in Reading made him feel familiar frustration again.

After being terminated by Millwall in 2016, he was invited to join Sunderland.

"I stayed there for a week," Eze said. "I remember when I got home, I was lying on the bunk with my brothers and praying: 'Please give me a professional contract, I know I can do it."

"Then I got the news that there was no contract, and I remember my frustration at the time. But I was always thinking 'What will happen next?' That's when the Queens Park Rangers came."

From Millwall abandoned the team to Premier League striker

, 19-year-old Eze has begun to play steadily for the Queens Park Rangers.

"I met some friends at Queens Park Rangers, and they saw me and understood what I could do," he said. "I had a long journey to be here - transferring to many clubs and numerous rejections."

He sincerely thanked Chris Ramsey, technical director of Queens Park Rangers Club, coaches Andy Inpe and Paul Hall, and former Queens Park Rangers forward Les Ferdinand for helping him develop and build confidence at Lovetus Road Stadium.

"I am very grateful to them. That was the turning point in my career and my beliefs have changed because of them." Eze said.

"They opened my eyes and taught me that playing football cannot be just on my body. They greatly improved my level and they saw my potential. All I have to do is to stimulate the potential."

In August 2020, Eze transferred from Queens Park Rangers to Crystal Palace for £19.5 million, when he had already scored 20 goals in the Championship.

In four years, he grew from Millwall's abandoned player to a Premier League striker.

Does Eze feel resentful of the club that rejected him?

"I will not look back and say to any team, 'Oh, you shouldn't give up on me,'" he said. "This is the decision they made at the time, and it was reasonable for them. Of course, it seems that they made a mistake now, but at that time, they made it very well. "

" So, to be honest, I don't blame anyone. I feel that the journey I have gone through forced me to grow, improve, and get better."

"I don't have those things that can be called talent. Everything I have in football is because God blessed me and gave me the opportunity to work hard and play football."

Don't forget my foundation after becoming famous

For those young men who have been honing their skills in the cage with him, every little improvement made by Eze feels extremely proud..

"I grew up in southeast London and playing football in a cage with friends was a social event," said Dajun Golding, an alumnus of Eze and now a striker for Scottish football second-tier team Elgin City.

"Eze said when he was a child that he would play at a high level. Many of us have said that we have lofty dreams and are very naive."

"On our group, only Eze has achieved this goal."

Eze's younger brother Chima Eqi currently plays for the Crystal Palace U21 team, and he said that his brother is his motivation for playing football.

"As a younger brother, I have witnessed all the setbacks he has experienced. Put my heart in it, and if I were in that situation, I don't know if I could stick with it," Chimaech said. "So, the spirit he showed for his family can help everyone move forward in difficult times. He is definitely an inspiring person, and he proved that 'My destiny is not by heaven'." After the European Cup, Eze continued to be selected for England, and in March he scored in the World Cup qualifier against Latvia, but he did not forget the starting point of it all.

"I just contacted the two teachers who taught me to play cage football - Gabriel and Raphael," Eze said. "It was them that gave me the style of playing now."

"They showed me all the skills, and I owe them too much."

Lisa Shaw was Eze's teacher when she was in Fosden Elementary School in Charlton. She witnessed Eze's performance after becoming famous.

Lisa Shaw said Ezen invited the children from his alma mater to watch the palace train.

"He sent a convoy to pick up the children, which was so generous."

The children admired him very much. He has encountered many setbacks in his career, but he is still strong, so he has become a good role model.

Will Eze score another great goal in the FA Cup final - like he did in the semi-finals?

"I think he felt calm when that ball was scored," Golding said of Eze's brilliant goal against Villa. "The words cannot describe how proud I am to call Eze my friend. I am extremely proud of his journey and what he will achieve in the future."

"I have witnessed all the climaxes and lows he has experienced-that is amazing."