We are going about Mason Mount, Christian Pulisic and their third friend when they were kids
Chelsea defeated Real Madrid 3-1 on aggregate to reach their first UEFA Champions League final since 2012. ‘The Blues’ won their first ever UCL title in 2012.
Christian Pulisic scored the first goal of the first leg of UCL semi final. In the second leg, Mason Mount scored the second goal of the game to led Chelsea to their final destination.
These two youngsters have became a center of attention since their debut for Chelsea. Both are having a great season so far.
An image of Mount and Pulisic from 2010 went viral on social media. When Pulisic was 11 years old, he visited the London club and was snapped alongside Mount (11) and another lad.
But who was the third kid in photo? His name is Tom Carlton, who spoke openly and honestly to Kent Online last August.
Mason Mount, Christian Pulisic
When the photo was taken, Tom had been in Chelsea’s academy for four years. That 10 year old kid dreamed of representing England.
In 2020, it was reported that Tom, 21, was plying his trade with Herne Bay FC, a Kent-based team who compete in the Isthmian League South East Division.
He said that it is tough to watch his friends shining at the highest level of English football because it could have been him.
“It’s hard, to be honest,” he said. “It’s not because of jealousy or anything like that – fair play to them for making it that far – but it could have been me and that’s why it’s so hard to watch.”
“I woke up that morning and my phone had about 500 messages,” he continued. “And I was pretty shocked. I didn’t even remember Pulisic being at Chelsea at the time until I saw the picture.
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“Apparently, he was there on a 10-day trial and he obviously didn’t get signed at the time.”
At the age of 14, Tom was released by Chelsea along with his close friend Declan Rice, who is currently shining at West Ham and England.
“It was hard to take,” he admitted, “It was heart-breaking.
“For a week after I was really upset; I didn’t go back to school for the next couple of days because my head was all over the place.
“But two or three days later my dad was receiving phone call after phone call from different clubs, like West Ham, Charlton, Millwall, Fulham, Birmingham, West Brom – a lot of clubs.”
He was then released by West Ham, two years later, aged 16.
“It was harder to take because I chucked my life away just for football, really,” he said. “I didn’t see friends; I didn’t see anyone.
“After that, I was thinking, ‘I’ve done all that just to be released again’.
But he decided to continue with football, adding: “I had an agent at the time and after having a chat with him, I thought I’d give it another go.”
Tom currently plays in the eighth tier of English football and trains twice a week with the non-league team while earning cash by working as a glazier.
“About last year, I wanted to quit football because I was down and depressed a lot,” Carlton added.
“My girlfriend told me I can’t quit because I can still make it – I still have a chance.
“Until I’m at an age where I don’t think I can do it, I’ll still believe that I can make it into the Football League.”