Football is a precarious industry to pursue a career in and teenagers are reminded of it yearly when many are axed by professional clubs.
Disappointment can spell the start of a new chapter within English football but it can also signal the end of the dream and many young hopefuls are sent back to the drawing board.
For midfielder Maximus Rigby, neither is the case.
The 18-year-old was one of eight scholars released by Leeds this summer, part of a cohort who saw their development stunted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Some of whom have already taken up offers from other clubs and others will be pondering their next step but Rigby has always had backup plans.
One in particular comes in the form of a football boots business, which he has been running since 2019.
His business is called 'Bootsfinder' and Rigby buys rare football boots that are sold on for a profit, often to elite footballers such as Euro 2020 star Andriy Yarmolenko and Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse.
His father, Ian, has been supportive of the venture which has given his son an income to fall back on if a career in football does not pan out.
Speaking to LeedsLive, Ian said: “It's come from a lot of purchasing, from him buying as a customer and realising you can buy these sort of boots at a cheaper price and sell them for more.
“He does a lot of limited edition boots that are collectors items, he was buying and selling and it was a natural progression until he got to the point where he was buying them for other people.
“When lockdown happened, he put himself to use and made it a proper business.”
As well as supplying to footballers, he also helps provide boots to dedicated collectors who seek rare and limited editions pairs.
Maximus said: “My biggest clients tend to be rare boot collectors, and I have even had a client fly in from Russia to collect a pair of some of the rarest boots I've had.
“These were a brand new boxed pair of Nike Mercurial Vapor III Samba, made in 2006, that were a limited colourway worn by R9, the original Ronaldo from Brazil.”
The midfielder has had an entrepreneurial streak from a young age, setting up a YouTube channel at the age of 12 which now has over 56,000 followers.
The money earned from the YouTube channel was invested in Bootsfinder, giving him the opportunity to fund a new business venture with a pre-existing one.
Despite his work off the pitch, Rigby still harbours ambitions of a career as a player and is weighing up an offer from an American University having achieved the equivalent of three 'A' A-level grades during his time at Leeds. The move state-side would involve him studying for a degree whilst playing the sport there for the University.
Although he has received offers from clubs in the EFL, a move to the United States is tempting Rigby.
His father said: “If you go to America, you've got four years of guaranteed football in what is basically a sweet spot for youth football now.”
Being released from an academy can be a painful experience but Maximus Rigby appears well-equipped for success as he plans his post-Leeds United life.
