Paddy Lacey was banned from professional football in 2017 for testing positive for cocaine, he served five months in prison after a subsequent offence, but it was a particular afternoon in Italy, not his downfall, that almost reduced him to tears.
Lacey was watching his youngest brother, Shea Lacey, make his first start for England and he was confronted with emotion.
"It was the first game when I went over to Italy to watch him and they were singing the national anthem," Paddy told the Manchester Evening News. "He’s standing there with the shirt on and I was welling up with tears just thinking how far he’s come."
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Since the age of three years old, Shea Lacey had a ball at his feet and it didn't take long before he was competing with his middle brother, Luis, in the garden, which often led to the pair exchanging blows after sporting disagreements.
"Shea was the best boxer out of the three of us," Paddy added. "He'd fall out with Luis, who is two years older, over a shooting drill or something and then the boxing gloves would come out. They’d suddenly be knocking 12 bells out of each other.
"My mum would come in the garden screaming, saying: 'I hate this boxing!' He was always boxing his older brother, so when he went to the boxing gym, working with lads his own age, who were the same size, it was dead easy for him."
It's rare to find someone that was born in Liverpool that supports Manchester United but the youngest of three brothers,15-year-old Shea, is that anomaly.
Shea Lacey is from a family that's had footballers in each generation to varying degrees of success. His oldest brother has described him as technically exceptional, brave in possession and he's already drawn comparisons to Phil Foden.
In the last year, footage of Lacey playing for United's academy has gone viral on social media and such clips have amassed thousands of views, just like when he almost scored four free-kicks in a single game at the Adidas Generation Cup.
"I’m in constant conversation with Man United and you never want it to go to his head, where he starts to dwell on clips and not focus on the next game," Paddy said. "Shea has just always wanted more, more goals and assists, to play better.
"If all three brothers had played on one day, we’d come home, I’d be a steady 7/10, Luis might have got a goal, but Shea would come in and he’d never rant and rave, despite scoring three goals. He’d never go over the top and he’d focus on the next game.
"Shea is very reserved, quietly confident and when he first played for the Under-18s and got a little half-hour with the Under-21s, I told him he'd have to play quicker. He’d come back and say: 'why don't you believe in me, I can do it against anyone'.
"I think only injuries could stop Shea in his career, with his mindset and ability. When I look at myself at that age, both of my younger brothers are so much more mentally mature than I was. They’re just streets ahead."
Although Shea is just 15 years old, he's made six appearances for Travis Binnion's U18 side this term, playing two years above his year group, and that includes a cameo from the bench against Stoke in the FA Youth Cup in January.
He's contributed two assists and a goal in those six appearances for the U18s and his strike against Wolves, where he cut inside before hitting a perfectly struck, swerving ball into the top corner, is a contender for academy goal of the season.
So how did a lad from Liverpool, who used to have a season ticket at Anfield, come to join United's academy? Although his oldest brother was not aware then, his own path in football had a significant influence on where Shea and Luis ended up.
"I was originally at Tranmere, then I went into Liverpool's and Man United's academies and kind of had to pick between a few clubs," Paddy, who played for Sheffield Wednesday, Bradford, Altrincham, Barrow and Accrington Stanley before his football ban in 2017, explained.
"It was under Rene Meulensteen and Mark Dempsey back in those days. I was 11 or 12 and my dad was impressed with the coaching. In my group, it was the likes of Ravel Morrison, Jesse Lingard, Ryan Tunnicliffe, a special group and the coaching was great.
"I stayed there for about a month and then I went to Liverpool, so it was decision time, and my dad was saying Man United was the best place for me but I’m a Liverpool fan, so as a 12-year-old, the decision was a no brainer.
"Their coaching was a lot more basic, you didn’t get room to develop as a player, so when my two little brothers were good enough, my dad never allowed them to make the decision. They got taken straight down the M62 to Manchester United."
Paddy, a proud Scouser, reluctantly admitted United 'are the biggest club in England' when reflecting on his brothers' paths. Luis, the middle brother, now plays for Barnsley, but Shea has remained at United and dreams of playing at Old Trafford.
"As a family, we’d share the responsibility of getting Shea to Manchester for training, which was multiple times a week even from the age of seven or eight. It’s a big commitment on the family, so we’d all take it in turns," Lacey said.
"But it always just seemed like the session was all about Shea. He’d be dribbling through the team and you’d kind of feel bad for the other parents, thinking, 'bloody hell Shea, give someone else a touch', but Man United were big on letting him have it.
"They wanted him to master the ball, to be able to find his way out of trouble. They let you learn for yourself about the times to pass before you lose the ball. The players that don’t learn get left by the wayside and it hasn’t half helped Shea.
"My dad always knew he was a little different. He just seems to be progressing fantastically with United and their coaches, year after year. We come in for meetings every year and we haven’t had a bad meeting since he was five."
The story of how Shea began to support United after initially following Liverpool was then revealed. "We’re all a family of Reds, but with Shea, Man United always helped him when he was younger, really looked out for him," he added.
"He was always the captain and he didn’t really get on with the Liverpool lads he played against. Luis and Shea had season tickets together at Anfield and Luis would always complain he (Shea) wouldn’t even watch the game and that he wasn’t interested.
"So we had it out in the car on the way home. I said 'Shea, these season tickets aren’t cheap, so if you don’t want to go I’ll give up mine and sit with Luis.' He said, 'I can’t go from hating Liverpool in the morning when I’m playing against them, to supporting them.'
"He was just being true to himself, it was quite a mature conversation and I just said 'go ahead - you’ve saved me £1,000 a year!'"
Although having allegiance to the red side of Manchester, it's City star Foden that Shea has already been compared with.
"Yeah definitely," Paddy said in agreement when asked about such comparisons. "You can’t help but say he looks similar to Foden, and that he plays similar to Foden. Although Messi is his hero, it was always Ronaldo, but I’d try to push Messi on him.
"They both adored Ronaldo when they were younger, but I’d say, 'lads, you’re both left footers, watch Messi and the more they did, they did a complete 360 and it was all Messi.' Now if you walk into Shea's room, he’ll be watching Messi.
"He was a lot more similar to Messi when he was younger, but he’s developed a lot more like a Foden, I'd say. He’s only slight for his age now and physically he doesn't have the strength to do what he did at younger levels but I think that will come.
"I’m 6ft 1ins and my dad is a good size. United have done certain tests and he'll get there with it eventually."
Shea has predominately played on the right wing this season, but coaches in the academy like to challenge youngsters in different positions across the attack.
"Luis was always a goal-poacher and he’s a left-back now," Paddy said. "You don’t know what is going to happen. He could end up a centre-mid, he’s a really good passer and he’s got a great strike, but anywhere across that front three or attacking midfield."
Before providing insight into his younger brother's personality, Paddy joked that 'eating more vegetables' is what he must do to develop his game further.
"One of his biggest strengths, which I realised when he was younger, is his mentality and the way he thinks. He has so much self-belief, which can take you a long way, whereas an average performance for me could lead to doubting myself," Paddy said.
"He never doubts himself in football. He knows he can do things on a pitch that maybe others couldn’t. He’s always after the ball, and always wants to make things happen, whereas some players, they would never admit it, are happy for the game to go by.
"Some are happy just to fit in, especially when you’re playing older, which Shea always has, but he’s always tried to take it upon himself to create something which is a big thing in itself, especially for a kid so small to be doing that with the U18s.
"We’ve never had a meeting at Man United where they’ve said he’d downed tools in training or that he doesn’t work hard. He’s always been a great trainer, he works dead hard and I hope all the mistakes I’ve made, I hope and pray, are for a reason.
"I hope the lads have learned from them all. They know how important hard work is and they live and breathe football."
Paddy had a career in football himself but his world fell apart in 2017 when he was given a 14-month ban by the Football Association for breaching anti-doping rules after a positive test for Benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine.
His professional contract with Accrington Stanley was terminated and just one month after he was released, he was arrested at Glastonbury Festival for possession of cocaine, MDMA, and £520 in counterfeit notes.
Paddy was sent to prison and he now speaks openly about his mistakes, in the hope his younger brothers do not follow the same path. "It’s just trauma in my life and I can only talk about it with the boys. I’ve never hidden it from them," he said.
"They’ve openly asked questions all the way through and I can only explain what I did wrong in my career to help. I think it was a big thing for them because I always lived in my Mam’s house, I was always there and chasing a football career.
"They were watching me against West Ham, Burnley in the cup, doing really well and I knew how proud of me they were then, thinking I was going to go somewhere in football, only to come to see me in a prison hall not long after that.
"We were talking about it the other night, when I had the first visit from him (Shea), I said, 'look, I’m not here for long, so don’t get upset, just picture it like I’m on holiday', because it was no secret about what had happened. It was a real thing in their lives.
"Shea wants to go on and achieve everything and make the most of himself, regardless if that’s the Premier League, Championship or League One. He just does everything to reach his maximum potential, rather than falling by the wayside like myself."
Paddy wants his journey to serve as a valuable lesson and his brothers have already taken it on board. "They have seen it first hand., It’s not a story, like when people sometimes come into club academies and speak to you," he explained.
"You’re not engrossed in the story, but when it's happened first-hand to your older brother, you are. My dad never bigged me up when I played but he does now to the kids and I think he’s just trying to make them wary of what can happen if you make mistakes.
After Paddy laid his mistakes bare, the conversation turned back to football and he reflected on what his brother has achieved so far, which includes representing England at youth level. "There have been so many proud moments with Shea," he said.
"The club will know, when he was going on nine, he was winning player of the tournament everywhere. It was literally every tournament for two or three years. I once picked him up from the airport with my dad and he had a big trophy.
"I asked what it was and he replied, so laidback, 'oh yeah I got player of the tournament again'. I’m thinking, 'wow, you’re not even interested, I’d still talk about that now. I still go on about my goal of the month award for Accrington Stanley!'
"The first game when I went over to Italy to watch him as well, they’re singing the national anthem and he’s got their shirt on, I was welling up with tears. It’s been a long old journey since my dad had them in the back garden since he was three.
"But there’s plenty of players I know who played for England youth and didn’t even end up professional and he needs to keep going. Although five minutes into kick-off, he’s had the ball a couple of times, and I can hear people in the stands asking who he is.
"Sometimes you don’t want to smile but I couldn’t help myself on that afternoon, it was ear to ear."
Paddy is now 29 and he's taken up a new career path: professional boxing. He's currently got a perfect record of seven wins and zero losses and he's setting an example to his brothers that success can be achieved through 'hard graft'.
"Monkey see and monkey do," Paddy laughed. "I try to do it for my brothers more than anyone. It was for my dad really, at the very start, because he didn’t like boxing but he’s fully on board now, so it’s for Luis and Shea.
"The biggest motivation for me, hand on my heart, is those lads. We are very close as a family, everyone always says that in Liverpool. My brothers are the drive, the motivation and I do believe I can do something in the sport.
"If I can win titles in boxing, after dedicating five or six years of my life, even after everything I’ve gone through, if they can do the same kind of thing, with the same mentality and training hard, it will only bode well in their careers.
"They’ve never missed a fight, they came to all the amateurs and they’ve been at the pro fights. I’ve got a Scouse derby coming up next weekend with a lad who lives locally. Hopefully I’ll perform well otherwise I’ll face the wrath of Luis and Shea.
"Then by the end of this year, I just want whatever title I can. I want to keep winning, improving because I’ve got to catch the boys up who have been boxing since they were 10. I have to put more hours in, they say do 10,000 hours and you can master anything.
"I just want to keep developing, like the kids with their football, to be as good as I can get. I watch Luis and Shea play football now thinking, 'bloody hell, I’m getting punched around a ring and yous are playing football - I know which one I’d rather do.'"
Paddy is finding redemption in the boxing ring and he's proving to his brothers that hard work can bring rewards. They are set to watch him fight at the Liverpool Arena next weekend and Paddy is hoping to watch them play professional football in the future.
The family have been on some journey, regardless of what happens next.
Paddy Lacey fights at the Liverpool Arena on March 11 and you can buy tickets for the fight here.
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