Beauty forged in pain for Wales' greatest midfielder
"I remember him at the age of 15, coming into Cardiff training, a spotty kid with some crazy haircuts," says Joe Ledley, a team-mate with Cardiff City and Wales. "I remember the first training session; he wasn't scared of anything, a hungry young kid who always wanted the ball. You just knew he was special and going to go on to great things.
" Ledley was right. Ramsey only needed 22 games at Cardiff to convince Arsene Wenger to sign him for Arsenal, the Frenchman beating his old rival Sir Alex Ferguson to secure the 17-year-old's signature in 2008. Few have been better judges of a player's potential than Wenger and Ferguson, who both knew this precocious playmaker was heading for the top.
Yet Ramsey's rise was not straightforward. He had to overcome profound challenges, from a career-threatening injury to the death of his mentor and former Wales manager, Gary Speed, all before he had turned 21. Ramsey did more than salvage his career.
He flourished at the highest level with Arsenal for more than a decade – and made himself a Wales legend. "He's the best Welsh midfielder ever," says Chris Coleman, manager when Wales reached the Euro 2016 semi-finals, with Ramsey included in Uefa's team of the tournament. "He's one of the bravest players I've worked with.
The toughest players are the ones built with tough mentalities that always want the ball, even when it's going wrong. "If we were losing or he personally was having a bad time, where some would duck it, hide, Rambo was super brave. He'd take the ball anywhere on the pitch.