Paraguay’s Nelson Valdez is a true rags-to-riches story.
Tuesday, he faces off with his mates in a round of 16 match against Japan. But before he found his name in lights, Valdez struggled to survive on the streets of San Joaquin, Yahoo reports.
"I would put on all my clothes to keep warm at night and curl up the best I could," Valdez told Yahoo.
Now Valdez makes over $1 million playing for Borussia Dortmund in the German Bundesliga. He certainly doesn’t take soccer for granted.
"Everything I have in life … I owe to football," he said. "That I can live somewhere nice and provide for my family, that is football. That I don’t have to sleep outside or under some concrete. That I don’t have to be cold or hungry or worried about the most basic things."
