Awer Mabil was 10 years old when he moved to Australia, and by the time he was 19, his skills with a football took him to Europe.
Now at 30, Mabil has decided to repeat the pattern and return to Australia once more.
Mabil decided his 11 years away, lonely at times, were enough and signed a three-year contract with Melbourne City FC in early August.
The former refugee's return comes as tension over immigration and multiculturalism mounts.
The Socceroos winger has said he’s not really politically engaged, but during the World Cup he was an outspoken critic of Pauline Hanson’s comments.
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Speaking after returning home to Adelaide after Australia was dumped out of the tournament, Mabil was asked by a reporter if the One Nation leader's remarks about Australia needing to be a monocultural society had been a distraction to the team and asked about suggestions that Australia was not a multicultural country.
"It's just all bullshit," he replied, also stating "Australia is the best country in the world".
Mabil had limited playing time at the World Cup; however, he scored his penalty during Australia’s shootout loss to Egypt in the Round of 32.
Now, months after the tournament, Mabil has spoken to SBS, insisting he hasn't been following the ins and outs of Australia's migration debate, but that he was prepared to speak out against Hanson again now and would continue to do so.
He believes "Australia is for all of us", and that he wants "safety and peace for everybody no matter where they come from".
He said that Socceroos players "would all defend Australia at any given time ... if there was war tomorrow, I think we'll all roll up our sleeves and fight for Australia together".
The Socceroos squad at the World Cup reflected at least 15 cultural and ethnic backgrounds and included four former refugees.
Mabil was born to South Sudanese parents in the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya.
He played for a spread of European clubs including Kasımpaşa in Türkiye, FC Midtjylland in Denmark and Spanish clubs Cádiz CF and CD Castellón.
While he was away, he says Australia's A-League was developing in leaps and bounds.
When Melbourne City presented their ambitions and plans to Mabil, he thought it was "perfect timing" and that he was "at a good age to also help the club".
He’s also very excited to be close to family again for support, having spent 13 years as a professional, including two years in Adelaide as a teenager.
"I can be playing week in, week out in front of my family and my friends," he said.
"I've had a few visits from the family members here. So that was not an everyday thing before in Europe, but now that I'm here, they can just be here within an hour or so. So it's been good so far."
The final major motivator for his A-League return is "to help the league."
Mabil hopes that he can be a mentor figure at his new club. "[I want to] help my club, help all the players that are there to become the best version of themselves possible," he said.
He emphasised the importance of balance between senior players and youth players at A-League clubs. "You have to have a good mixture of the senior players and the youth because the youth need also somebody to look up to," he said.
Mabil also plans to be active in local communities, particularly those with African diasporas. "[I want to] give these kids something to look up to and then something to be excited about," he said.
"It’s a big thing for me being able to be connected to the community ... it's a big goal for me and the club to work together and seeing how we can reach the wider communities."
He further hopes that as a role model he can keep kids out of trouble saying: "I will do my part in being an example for them."
Mabil reminisces on his days growing up in Australia when he thinks he saw "probably the peak of A-league", "where you had Del Piero".
The Italy and Juventus legend played for Sydney FC from 2012-2014 and was at the time the A-League's highest ever paid player.
Other Socceroos stars who returned to the A-League after successful European careers include Harry Kewell, Tim Cahill and John Aloisi.
Mabil thinks it’s important the A-League "capitalise on the World Cup success" and "take advantage of this moment now".
He is also excited for a two-game friendly series the Socceroos play against Brazil later this month.
"I think it’s a good test for us to see also where we’re at and then also what we can learn from it," he said.
"I think it’d be a great game for us as Australians and also all the Australian fans to be able to see the players from the World Cup also up close."
The Socceroos will play Brazil in Townsville on 25 September and in Brisbane on 29 September.
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