Hamsik's father sold family Skoda to help son succeed in football
Marek Hamsik's father sold the family's Skoda Felicia to help his son on the road to footballing stardom, it has emerged.
When Marek was 15 and shining for local club Jupie Podlavice, he attracted interest from Slovan Bratislava, but the Slovakian giants could not afford the €5,000 asking price, so his father Richard took drastic steps to raise the money himself - including the sale of the family car.
> > Every parent wants to see his child achieve as much as possible. We have always supported our children so that they can do their best in sport. Marek always looked comfortable with the ball, maybe even since he was three years old. > > > “So my wife and I said that we would do everything for him and give him a chance. If he would not have been successful, he could just have returned back home from Bratislava at any time. We asked him if he wanted to take the next step and when he said yes we sacrificed everything. > >
Hamsik has since established himself as one of the most accomplished midfield playmakers in Europe and has already caught the eye at Euro 2016, but he insists that no English clubs have ever shown a formal interest in signing him from Napoli.
> > A lot of journalists have linked me with English teams many times in the past. The saying goes that there is no smoke without fire but I can say that I have never had a concrete offer from England. > >