Greenock Morton midfielder Fouad Bachirou almost quit the game three years ago.
The 22-year old Frenchman is on the verge of helping Greenock gain promotion to the Scottish Premier League and if that is achieved, he will have former Newcastle United and Paris Saint-Germain winger Laurent Robert to thank.
"If we get to the SPL I will owe it to my Morton team-mates, my family in Paris and also Laurent, who is one of my closest friends," he told Record Sport.
"I talk to Laurent a lot and he helped me so much when things weren't going well.
"I was really low in confidence at the end of my time at PSG because I was injured and told I was being released. I wasn't sure what the future held but Laurent was always there to talk to me. His career was over at that time but he came to PSG and was training with the reserves to keep fit just before he retired.
"Laurent was a huge influence on me and would always talk to me about things. Not just football but life in general. He is a big name so it meant a lot.
"I was low in confidence because I'd had so many injuries and PSG were releasing me.
"I doubted myself. I considered quitting football a few times but Laurent helped talk me out of it.
"He told me to keep going and stop putting so much pressure on myself. I stuck at it, tried to enjoy myself and now have a chance of making it to the SPL.
"If I get there it will be a thank you to him. I've enjoyed my time in Scotland and reaching the SPL would cap it all off. I've never won anything in my career either so that would be a great achievement."
Greenock currently sits second on the First Division table, five points behind league leaders Partick Thistle, with Bachirou a key member of Allan Moore's side.
