KEY POINTS:
When Cameron Lindsay helped Blackburn Rovers youth soccer team to a rare win over rivals Liverpool, team management knew they had something special on their hands.
In the next game, they didn't let him play so other teams wouldn't get a glimpse of the newest great hope for
New Zealand soccer.
And within a short time they offered the 15-year-old trialist from the North Shore a four-year contract.
"I knew it had gone well, but I never expected a contract like that," Lindsay told the Weekend Herald before flying to the UK to sign terms.
"I couldn't believe it. I was stoked."
The Northcote College student will leave behind his parents Ken and Janice and join the Premier League club in July.
The scale of the contract is understood to be the largest signed by a teenage Kiwi soccer player.
For Lindsay, it will mean following in the footsteps of one of his heroes, New Zealander Ryan Nelsen, who has been plying his trade at Blackburn Rovers for more than three years.
As well as living the dream of millions of teenagers worldwide, Lindsay could enjoy a potentially lucrative career - Nelsen signed a five-year contract last year worth $10 million.
Ken Lindsay, director of an air conditioning company, said not many boys had been given the opportunity his son had - but he was also realistic.
"It's only the first step and a lot of kids don't make it, but it's a fantastic, exciting step and now Cameron has four years to see if he can make a living from football."
His son, who has been kicking a ball for as long as he can remember, said becoming a professional soccer player was all he ever wanted to do.
He started playing for his school team and also for Auckland club Central United. His big break came through the Wyners soccer academy run by former All White and Oceania Player of the Century Wynton Rufer.
He was spotted by scouts when he played in England in an international youth tournament, and Rufer spoke to Nelsen about a trial at Blackburn.
Lindsay took meeting his hero in his stride. "He was a really nice guy. We didn't even talk that much about football - he just wanted to talk about New Zealand," the teenager said.
Under the terms of the deal, Lindsay will go to a school in Blackburn and live in a hostel with other youth academy players.
The club will pay for Lindsay to fly home four times a year and for his family to visit England once a year.
Rufer said the deal was unique in NZ soccer. "I've never seen a contract like this offered in 11 years here."
He said Nelsen would take Lindsay under his wing during his training and development.
And he believed Lindsay had what it takes to make it. "It's a long, difficult and competitive process and we don't expect miracles - but the opportunity is first class. Cameron has shown he has excellent potential - and is willing to work very hard." Will Ryan Nelsen play at the Olympics?
PREMIER SUCCESS ENOUGH TO SET LINDSAY UP FOR LIFE
If Cameron Lindsay proves successful he could be set for life - he is joining the richest soccer league in the world.
Premiership players last year earned an average of £676,000 ($1.7 million), according to a survey by the Independent and the Professional Footballers Association.
That figure, which is about £13,000 a week, can easily be doubled with bonuses.
Typically, a player will see a rise of between 60 per cent and 100 per cent when performance-related bonuses are taken into account.
Bonuses may include appearance money of about £5000 a game - even if the player comes on only as a last-minute substitute.
Players can also look forward to a share of a win bonus following each victory and an end-of-season performance bonus.
Further bonuses might follow if a club reaches a cup final and there may also be goal bonuses.
The top players earn up to £130,000 ($328,000) a week and the wage bill for players this year is expected to top $1 billion for the first time.
That is an astonishing rise of 65 per cent from the average in 2000 as money has poured into the sport and the Premier has become the most popular soccer league worldwide.
And even those who don't make it at the highest grade can do well. In the lowest division players earn an average salary of £49,600.
