Riyad Mahrez was part of arguably football’s biggest underdog story when he won the Premier League with Leicester in 2016.
The Algerian winger was crowned the 2015/16 PFA Player of the Year as the Foxes defied odds of 5000/1 to lift their first ever English title in one of the all-time great sporting moments.
This proved to be just the beginning for Mahrez, who went on to enjoy more huge success at next club Manchester City, helping them to an historic treble in 2023, which included a first ever Champions League title.
Considering the 33-year-old joined Leicester, then a Championship side, for just £450,000 in 2014, his rise to the top of football is nothing short of incredible.
But Mahrez’s remarkable career trajectory is made even more impressive after discovering his early struggles entering into the professional game.
Most notable of these, was an ill-fated trial with Scottish outfit St Mirren in 2009 when the Algerian was just 17.
Then plying his trade with amateur outfit AS Sarcelles in the Parisian suburbs, Mahrez was offered a tryout with the Scottish Premiership outfit, but his slender frame raised concern at the Saints.
So much so in fact, that he was told he needed to ‘eat more porridge’ to forge a career in Scotland.
Jake Duncan, the representative who facilitated Mahrez’s trial with the Saints, told BBC Scotland in 2021: “My French contact used to arrange bounce games in a suburban region of Paris.
“A lot of the time I had to send my scout, but he watched a game and told me I had to take a look at this boy.”
“I send out a standard A4 client information sheet with basic details – height, weight, date of birth.
“At the bottom I usually write some additional comments. For Riyad’s, I wrote: ‘Clever and technical player for his age; good dead ball exponent; but needs to eat more porridge’.”
Despite his slight build however, Mahrez’ trademark flair and trickery was on show even in the tough conditions.
St Mirren academy manager David Longwell recalled of him: “Riyad was very underdeveloped.
“But, even back then, he had real technical quality. You saw it with the way he moved with the ball. I always remember phoning Jake to rave about how good he was.
“I can’t help laughing when I look back, but we used to train at a freezing cold indoor pitch that wasn’t too glamorous and you would see Riyad absolutely rinsing the other boys in five-a-side games.”
But even after scoring seven goals in four friendly games, a contract offer failed to materialise, with St Mirren’s first-team coaches unconvinced that Mahrez boasted the physical attributes to succeed in the Scottish game.
And the current Al Ahli star ultimately lost patience as the Saints dragged their heels, and took matters into his own hands.
In a 2016 interview with l’Equipe, Mahrez revealed that he fled his trial in Scotland on a bike after becoming fed up with the Scottish weather.
He recalled: “They made me wait. Two-and-a-half months.
“I’d had enough. It drove me crazy, Scotland. It was cold. It was abuse. It was snowing and everything… I was so cold that one day I faked an injury to go to the locker room.
“It was physical and it was cold. We trained in the snow! I felt that I progressed; I wasn’t allowed to go so I left in secret.”
Detailing how he came to escape the SPL side, he continued: “Anyway… a few days later, my agent said… ‘Riyad, I’ve sent you a ticket, you take the bus right away, get off at Glasgow Station and you get on the train to the airport, then you take the flight to Paris’.
“I did not speak English at all. I left my boots at the training ground. I borrowed a bike from a guy from the hotel, I took my football trainers, I made my bag and I left without telling anyone.
“Not even the lady at the hotel. I left via a staircase which avoided the reception.”
After his secret departure from Scotland, Mahrez eventually signed for French club Le Havre after a spell with amateur side Quimper, before his career-defining move to Leicester in 2014.
And after adding a further four Premier League titles to his name with Manchester City, it’s fair to say the winger will likely not regret his decision here.
