When Kevin Prince-Boateng looks back at his career, there is an element of regret; regret that he could, and perhaps should, have achieved more.
Sure, he won Serie A at AC Milan and La Liga while on loan at Barcelona a few seasons ago, but the German-born Ghanaian international certainly believes he didn't fully take advantage of the ability that he had.
At the end of the 2009/10 season, Prince-Boateng stood out within a financially troubled and eventually relegated Portsmouth side. He managed to lead them to an FA Cup final, too, which they lost 1-0 to Chelsea, before Ghana selected him as part of their 2010 World Cup squad.
It was in that tournament where he truly flourished, reaching the quarter-finals with the Black Stars - they were even one penalty away from reaching the semis. AC Milan were impressed, and he soon moved to the San Siro, via a very brief interlude at Genoa.
However, as the 35-year-old now playing at Hertha Berlin exclusively tells FourFourTwo, this move proved he could have achieved so much more in the game.
"Not many players have made as big of a step as suffering relegation with Portsmouth, playing well in four or five games at the World Cup, then waking up at Milan," Prince-Boateng explains.
"People were texting me, saying, 'What? Are you serious?' Do you know what I thought? ‘You f**king idiot! If you hadn’t been so lazy when you were younger…’ I don’t think Milan checked me out playing for Portsmouth – they simply watched the World Cup. I wasn’t in good shape, I wasn’t even fit – I was still going out, drinking and partying. I was focused for that World Cup.
"So, I was thinking that if a huge club like Milan were going to give me a three-year contract after seeing five games, then if I’d been more focused when I was younger, Milan would have been merely a stepping stone for me."
Prince-Boateng continues, claiming he had issues pushing himself to become an even better player, despite knowing he had the talent and skill to progress right to the elite level of football.
In fact, the Hertha Berlin forward suggests it is this self-belief in his own talent which hindered, rather than helped, him early in his career.
"Without wanting to sound arrogant, I was without doubt one of the biggest talents in Europe. But I was lazy! I just let my talent do the work.
"[Greek God] Achilles was perfect but he had a bad Achilles, and I was great but a lazy little boy! That’s the biggest regret from my youth days: I didn’t push myself, or have anyone to push me.
"I’ve had a brilliant career but I definitely could have done more, on the bigger stage, for a longer time. But I learned a lot and now I can give that to young players."
