When Femi Opabunmi made his debut for Nigeria in 2002 as a 17-year-old, it seemed the footballing world was at his feet.

The winger had made an impression for his country's under 17's, scoring six goals in six appearances.

There was clearly a big hype surrounding the teenager, and that hype only increased after he scored on his debut for the Super Eagles against Kenya just prior to the 2002 World Cup.

And, although he sat out of his side's opening two group games in Group F, he was rewarded with a start against England in their final group game, in which ended 0-0.

The Super Eagles exited the tournament having finished last in Group F, but they had reason for optimism with Opabunmi.

At 17 years old, he had become Nigeria's youngster ever player to represent them at a World Cup, whilst also becoming the third youngster player in the tournament's history, behind Norman Whiteside and Samuel Eto'o.

DISASTER STRIKES

But then, Opabunmi's career took a massive hit.

The Nigerian would suffer from a disease called glaucoma, causing his eyesight to deteriorate in his right eye.

Understandably, this did not bode well for Opabunmi's hopes of becoming one of the world's most talented footballers, and he revealed all in a heartbreaking story with the BBC.

Opabunmi explained: "My eye problem started. I went for surgery. They said I have glaucoma. Everything changed. Things just got worse and worse and worse. I only see with one eye now.

"I woke up one morning and found out that I couldn't see well. I just saw cloud and had to go the specialist to check. That's when they told me I had to have an operation. After the operation, the problem remained the same.

"Now I can only see with my left eye. I can't see anything with my right. 

"Giving up football is a very painful thing. Sometimes you think that maybe you should kill yourself. You think a lot, especially when your mates are still playing. You look at them and you shed tears. You feel bad. But in any situation, you have to be stronger.

"I think back. I think a lot about when I was the second top goalscorer at the Under-17 World Championship in 2001 - and third best player. And I was the youngest player to play in the World Cup in South Korea and Japan.

"Sometimes I think: 'What is this life about?'

"The lowest moment for me is when I have my challenges - that I can't play football when I'm still active. It's a painful thing."

IT GETS EVEN WORSE

As a result of that problem Opabunmi would never play for his country again. In fact, he had to retire from football just four years after the 2002 World Cup, at just 21-years-old.

And reports suggest it's not just Opabunmi's health that have been affected. 

The Nigerian was reportedly seen on the streets of Nigeria begging, having lost all of the money he earned as a footballer to fund his treatment.

And Opabunmi has criticised the Nigerian Football Federation for failing to help him in his time of need, declaring that he will not allow his children to represent the Super Eagles if given the chance.

"Its a bad story. Sometimes I don’t want to watch Nigerian football because any day I want to do so, I cry,” Opabunmi said on a live radio programme in 2015.

"I don’t know if the NFF will help me now. I needed their assistance. I will like my children to play professional football in future, but I will not allow them to play for this country.

"My experience brings me bad memories. I will rather encourage them to take up nationalities of other countries and play international football elsewhere."

What a heartbreaking story.