Rafa Puente shown the door at Pumas academy | OneFootball

Rafael Puente recounted in an interview that he was expelled from Pumas Sub-14 by a coach who held a grudge against his father.

Although he returned days later, he said that many players are judged by their economic background, not by their talent.

“The coach believed that my dad had sent him to get injured years before, and that's why he took me off the team,” he revealed.

He added that in Mexico, there is a prejudice that if a young person does not come from a disadvantaged background, “they do not have the hunger to transcend”.

Puente emphasized that effort does not depend on scarcity, but on the desire to excel.

“I know many who have everything and yet they struggle with more desire than others,” he expressed when sharing an anecdote about how to raise awareness of the privilege of being a soccer player.

Regarding his finances, he admitted that one of his mistakes has been relying on a single source of income.

“If they kick me out, I go from earning well to having nothing. I blame myself for not having diversified,” he reflected.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.

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