FEBIAN BRANDY has gone from being one of the hottest young talents in English football to helping clubs unearth the next big thing.
Brandy, 36, didn't quite hit the heights after nearly 15 years on the books at Manchester United.
The tricky forward was thought of as one of the brightest sparks in the English game, lauded by team-mates and chased by the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona.
But injuries meant that Brandy never played a professional game for Man Utd.
He instead had 16 different clubs across multiple countries before retiring in non-league.
However, he has insisted that he has no regrets over how things worked out, after it was that journey that led him to create Skouted - an app that helps unsigned players find a club to give them an opportunity.
Brandy told SunSport: "I always saw myself playing for Manchester United, I didn’t really know anything else.
"I only really knew Man Utd and England. So when it did come to an end it was hard, I was upset.
“But I thought to myself, for my career, this has to happen. I didn’t want to be one of those players that was 23/24 and signing contracts just to be at a big club.
"I wanted to go and make a name for myself elsewhere. I was obviously upset, but it was something that had to be done.
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“People ask, ‘Should I have signed for Barcelona?'
"Don’t get me wrong, the weather would have been nicer, but I’ve got no regrets."
Man Utd had turned down a £1million bid from Barca when Brandy was just a teenager, a deal rejected by Sir Alex Ferguson after the iconic manager asked Brandy if he wanted to stay put.
Barcelona had come sniffing after he had impressed in a youth tournament involving the Catalan club, Real Madrid, PSG and Ajax.
Brandy explained: "About two weeks after the tournament, some Spanish guy - I don’t know how he got the number - rang my mum and dad’s house phone.
"My mum picked up and he said ‘we’re interested in your son Febian.’
“Another two weeks later I went into training and Sir Alex Ferguson walked past me in the corridor and said ‘have you heard?’.
"I had a feeling what he was talking about, but you have to be respectful so I played dumb. He said ‘Barcelona are interested in you, what are your thoughts?’
“I said, ‘listen, boss. I’m a local lad. I’m from Manchester and I see my career here, this is the place that I want to be’. Then he just slapped me on the head, called me a good lad and walked away.
“Things started to come to fruition in the weeks that followed, and I think they [Barca] made a £1m bid, which obviously Sir Alex rejected and I didn’t hear anything of it from then."
Manchester-born Brandy ultimately left United in 2010, where he had come up through the youth ranks alongside the likes of Ravel Morrison, Jonny Evans and Danny Welbeck.
Just 22 at the time, Brandy had gone from training with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Gary Neville - players he recalls being like "big brothers" to him - to trying to find his next club and the next step in his career in the lower leagues.
Brandy had lined up a deal with Sheffield United in the Championship, but broke his metatarsal in the last minute of his last game for Man Utd's reserves - scuppering the move.
Instead, after seven months without a club, he found an opportunity with Notts County in League Two.
From there injuries meant Brandy was never able to settle at one club, kickstarting a journeyman career that saw him play in Greece and Thailand as well as for the likes of Sheffield United, Rotherham and Rochdale.
It was during that time of bouncing around from club to club and constantly battling injury that Brandy realised he had to start thinking about his future, which led to the idea for Skouted.
He recalled: "When I was in my late 20s I had been battling with so many injuries and I started to think about my future.
"I didn’t really want to be a coach or a manager. That’s when I started to put Skouted in place.
“I’ve always had an entrepreneurial mindset and I think what really triggered it was that when I was at Man Utd, I was pretty fortunate to be there as long as I was.
"I was fortunate to get a contract every year from the age of eight until I was 22.
“I had friends that might not have been good enough to make it at Man Utd, but they might have been able to go and play at a lesser club.
"But when they got released their parents or their guardians didn’t have the connections to pick up the phone to someone in the Championship or League One and ask for a trial.
“That’s when I thought to myself, ‘I need to create something that’s going to bridge that gap between players and clubs’.
"Something where football clubs can find these players and players have got a platform to present themselves in front of these football clubs.”
That's exactly what he did, launching Skouted after hanging up his boots at non-league Ebbsfleet in 2017 and turning his attention to helping the next generation of talent.
The app allows young players to upload clips of themselves playing, with top clubs then browsing through the videos to see if there's any potential there.
While Brandy has also begun to organise showcase games where young stars train together and are invited to play in academy competitions in front of top-level scouts - including the likes of Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea.
In fact, a recent entry into the SuperCup, formerly known as the Milk Cup, saw his side of hungry prospects grind out a 2-2 draw with Manchester United U16s with just four weeks of training - resulting in eight players being invited to trials at top clubs.
It was that same competition that Brandy had played in as a teenager, winning player of the tournament over the likes of Sergio Busquets and Bojan - sparking interest from Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Brandy doesn't know exactly how many players he has helped get an opportunity, but estimated that Skouted has helped in excess of 300 club-less players earn professional trials across the globe.
He wants Skouted to be seen as a "breeding ground" for talent, and can already point to players that are now tied down at the top level thanks to the app's help.
Arsenal youngster Louis Zecevic-John, who has signed a scholarship with the Gunners academy and represented both England and Serbia at youth level, found himself on the Skouted app before getting his shot.
Brandy explained: "Louis was picked up by one of the Skouted scouts and we put him up with a Championship club, who ended up not being too keen on him.
"But after that he was picked up by a Premier League side before signing a two-year contract with Arsenal.
“He was actually on the Skouted app a few years ago, it just goes to show that we know what we’re talking about.
"He went from Regents Park, to the Skouted App and now he’s gone on to sign for Arsenal”.
Now Brandy is planning on expanding his platform for the women's game too, with plans in place to put on a female showcase game this year.
For the former England youth international and two-time Saint Kitts and Nevis cap, it's all about getting talented players back on the pitch.
He added: "Everyone wants to sign a Messi or a Ronaldo, but the reality is that they’re rare gems. But my experience at Man Utd helps me know what level top clubs are still looking for.
“Some of these players don’t know what to do, and their parents don’t know what to do. In terms of how they can get involved in the football system.
"We’re not saying we’re going to turn everyone into a Premier League footballer, but what we’re trying to say is there’s a level out there for people to play football.”
