AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan has explained how the pride of his mother and his family is what spurs him on and is his greatest achievement in life.
In quotes reported by Football Talk on Twitter, the French goalkeeper explained how far into his career it took for him to be able to thank his mother properly for raising him.
Maignan was born into very humble surroundings in French Guyana before moving to France as a child. That is where his mother had to work incredibly hard to support him and his siblings. Despite him buying her a house, she still does not want to stop working.
My greatest pride is helping my mother. On the other hand, I didn’t take her out on my first pro contract, I didn’t have the means yet. I took her out after the 2nd or 3rd contract. Her tears are…it’s a joy, it means that I succeeded.
“Her tears when I offered her my house.” It is not my home, but hers. She battled for us, my brothers and sisters, and she journeyed with us to Haiti and Guyana. We didn’t have a place to live in France when we arrived. We stayed with relatives and aunts in difficult circumstances. When we moved to Villiers-le-Bel, mother sent me off at 4 a.m. every morning with a lady who would take me to school and monitor me for the day. She caught the train at 5:30 a.m. to travel to Ville-d’Avray, I believe, to look for something to eat; she returned to retrieve me in the evening, and I slept when I got home. Today, I make the following proposal to her:
Do you want to stop working? No, I like it. It’s a proof of humility. That’s what she taught me. The requirement, the humility, it comes from her.
Maignan went on to explain that trophies and cars are not what brings him the most pride in his career, it is good things that happen to his family, in particular his mother.
“Everything good that happens to your family, and even more so to your mother, is your greatest pride. When you have children, you get married, your sister has a diploma, your brother succeeds, these are the most important moments. Everything you see out there, even if we have cars, Bugattis, whatever you want, that’s not pride. Our pride is the success of the family. The rest is next to nothing. They can bring me back four Champions Leagues, four World Cups, the biggest trophies in my sport, if I haven’t made my mother proud, my family, I don’t give a s**t. Keep them! What I want is to make my family happy. She’s the most important thing.”
