'I love playing football in Northern Ireland'

Brandon Diau joined Portadown FC in January 2024

With more than 300,000 followers and almost 10 million likes on Tiktok, Portadown's Brandon Diau has a journey to Armagh that is different from many who play football in Northern Ireland.

After playing in Germany he moved to London.

An emotional breakdown one day while cleaning someone else's toilet led him to ask himself: "What are you doing?

"Did you come to England to like clean other people's toilets?

"Or did you come to England to pursue your dream?".

"I sat there and I cried my eyes out," he told BBC News NI.

This led him to social media and documenting his attempt to make it in professional football.

Early struggles

A young Brandon and his mother

Brandon Diau was born in Bonn - the former capital of what was West Germany a few years after the country's reunification.

His parents are originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

"My parents got divorced when I was six, so my upbringing wasn't the easiest, especially financially. We had to struggle a lot," he told BBC News NI.

"I remember at school every time when my friends got new football boots and I always turned up with my old rotten boots I was sad," he added.

These struggles helped him realise his goals in life would be hard work.

Sport was always a natural fit for the 6ft 6in central defender.

"I've always been tall. I think the question people ask me the most is why I never played basketball.

He got into football because his friends played it.

"If they played basketball, I would probably be in the NBA right now," he joked.

From Leverkusen to London

Brandon Diau joined Bayer Leverkusen's academy around the same time they lost the Champions League Final to Real Madrid in 2002

In 2001, Mr Diau's father told him he would be having a trial for Bayer Leverkusen.

After spending six years at the club, he was released.

He then went onto play for a host of different clubs in Germany including the Hamburg SV academy.

In 2016, he went to London to try and make it there where there were " so many teams, so many opportunities."

"I really thought England's going to be my country," he added.

'It's been a crazy journey so far'

At the time Mr Diau did not have an agent.

"I had this naïve thinking that because I played in quite good teams that I was going to find a team," he added.

But finding a team was not as easy and after consistent rejection he had to look at alternative work to pay the bills and his savings were dwindling.

He started to work in various fast food outlets and hotels as a kitchen porter.

"Kitchen porter is such a hard job," he said.

It was around this time, when working as a cleaner, that he committed fully to trying to get his football career back on track.

Social media star

After an emotional breakdown while cleaning someone's toilet, Mr Diau took to social media and started to document his search for a football contract.

"Every single day consistently what I do, what I eat, how I train to really show people that it is not that easy to sign a pro contract," he said.

He acknowledges the role social media has played in his career.

"I guess without social media, I wouldn't be sitting here having an interview," he said.

He also attributes his faith as another big factor in his career.

"I really try to tell people and show people that through my life that when, you believe in God, that everything is possible."

Living in Northern Ireland

Brandon Diau playing for Portadown

Mr Diau moved to Northern Ireland in January 2024, after spending time in Wales and Dubai.

Portadown had seen his TikTok videos.

"I feel so comfortable," he said about living in Northern Ireland.

"I didn't expect Northern Ireland to be so multicultural. There's so many people from different countries and that makes me feel welcome and it's just it's just really nice.

"I can imagine living here for a long time. Because I really like it here," he added.

His move to Northern Ireland has been a personal success.

He was part of the Portadown team that won the Championship last season and also made the squad for the League Cup final at Windsor Park where they were beaten by Linfield.