"For me, it was a struggle… it was so hard...so hard," Youssouf Fofana told the Ligue 1 Show on beIN SPORTS. "You have to keep trying, even when things are going against you. You have to keep on believing that you're going to be a professional footballer even when it feels like a pipe dream."

Growing up in the humble surrounds of Paris' 19th arrondissement, Fofana was the pride of his neighbourhood when he was selected for Clairefontaine aged 12…

The doldrums

But his world fell apart when he was released by the prestigious youth academy.

"It's a hammer blow when you return to the amateur game, and you return to 'normal life'," Fofana explained. "You have to find yourself a school… before that, the bus just dropped me off in front of the school. It's really hard to bounce back from such a failure - and for me it was a failure. I started to ask myself, 'why should I bother?'. Some people are cut out for this, some aren't. Maybe it's not for me."

An 18-year-old Fofana was about to throw in the towel when he was offered a lifeline by Strasbourg. He fought hard in the reserves for a year and a half before the good news finally arrived.

"I got quite tearful when I landed my first contract with Strasbourg… and I thought 'wow, this is how it feels to receive an offer from a professional club'!," he recalled. "I was ready to sign anything. I didn't even listen to what they were offering me. I just said 'yes' straight away."

The return!

Fofana broke into the Strasbourg side in 2018 and immediately took Ligue 1 Uber Eats by storm. He joined Monaco for €15m in 2020 and was soon catching the eye with his dynamic displays - although the midfielder admits today he still had plenty to learn.

"I thought I was a good player when I came here, but looking back, I realise I was still very, very young," he smiled. "It's like when you get your drivers' licence, you think you can drive, but as you grow up you realise that actually you weren't a good driver at all! It's the same for me - I'm still getting to know myself, day after day, year after year… and AS Monaco have played a big part in that."

Alongside Aurélien Tchouameni, Fofana formed one of the best midfield duos in France… Since Tchouaméni's departure, the 23-year-old has had to get used to a new partner in the form of Mohamed Camara… and the early signs are promising!

Partners in crime

"He's very different from Tchouameni," explained Fofana. "Momo plays the holding role - that is he doesn't make many runs - when we have the ball. That gives me the chance to get forward a lot more."

Fofana and Camara impressed hugely in their first game together, at the Parc des Princes, as Monaco became the first side to take a point off PSG this season.

"I felt good! It's a special game for me because I'm from Paris, so my family and friends were there. I had to perform! There was a lot of pressure!" said Fofana. "But when you're out on the pitch, you don't think about who has the ball and who's around you - whether it's Verratti, Ramos or Neymar - I have to go for it, there's no time to think."

The Clément Effect

Back the the present, and recent wins against Nice and Lyon have got Monaco back on track in the league. Since Philippe Clément took charge in January, the eight-time champions look like genuine contenders again - and for Fofana, who has become one of the Belgian's key players, it's no coincidence that the smiles have returned to the training ground.

"He's very nice!" Fofana laughed. "To annoy him, you have to do something really bad. Even when things go badly, he always looks at the positives."

But Clément isn't just nice, he is canny and implemented clear man management strategy when he arrived at the club.

"Having the trust of a coach is always important for a player; when he arrived, he came to me and said 'I don't want a player-coach relationship with you',"said Fofana. "I think that was the case with a lot of players who had lost a bit of confidence in recent times."

A future in Bleu?

The former France Under-21 international is most definitely on the way up… and has a growing chance of making Didier Deschamps' World Cup squad, having just received his maiden call-up.

"It's very hard to imagine for a player who has never been called up," Fofana said humbly before Deschamps' announcement. "I'd need to be very lucky, I think. But personally, I want to go as far as possible. I'm already playing for Monaco, so everything from now is a bonus. I'll give myself the chance to go as far as possible. As long as my body will carry me."

Fofana's next chance to impress will come on Sunday afternoon as Clément's side travel to Reims looking to make it three wins on the bounce and push on from seventh place in the Ligue 1 Uber Eats standings.

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