Shoeshine Boy

There might be big money in professional football, but it has always been the poor man's sport. Just a ball and golden feet and you are good to go. Little wonder then that so many football greats should hail from humble backgrounds. The Sao Paulo soccer museum in Brazil displays a variety of makeshift balls. Doll's head, tightly wound up socks... It also has the wooden shoeshine box Pele used as a boy. The Brazilian legend, with net worth of $115 million, was born to a poor family in Minas Gerais state and spent his childhood working in teashops. He also doubled as a shoeshine boy. He couldn't afford a ball, used to play with a sock stuffed with newspaper or a grapefruit.

Oh, Jesus

Four years ago, Gabriel Jesus was helping paint the streets of his neighbourhood in yellow, green and blue in preparation of the World Cup. At the local club he played for, a big incentive was the box of food provisions they handed out. He is now part of the Brazilian national team and also plays for Manchester City. Braz-ilian left back Roberto Carlos' parents lived in slums, worked in coffee plantations. Today, he owns a fleet of luxury cars including a Bugatti Veyron.

Street Smart

Portugal's Ronaldo was named after Ronald Reagan. He, his parents - a cook and a gardener - and siblings lived in a shack. He was expelled from school after he threw a chair at a teacher. He now owns fashion label CR7, a chain of hotels and has even set up a museum of his achievements. Alexis Sanchez is from a mining town in Chile. Did street acrobatics for a living. His brother once said: "If he wasn't a footballer, he would be working in the mines... for £314 a month." The highest paid English Premier League player, he makes £3,50,000 per week. Argentina's Angel di Maria, who plays for Paris Saint-Germain, couldn't afford shoes as a kid. In 2014, he signed a deal with Manchester United. It was the fifth most expensive transfer ever.