“Taking care of yourself was key,” he says. “Enough rest, choosing what you eat and mental health was key.” But perhaps more importantly, it requires an internal drive – a hunger that cannot be manufactured externally. “Football is not all about talent,” he reflects. “Your hunger and willingness to learn and challenge yourself on a daily basis play a huge role.” His academic background, while valuable, is something he views with nuance. It contributed to his development, but not in isolation. “Academics only play a role to a certain degree,” he says candidly. “I have met many players who never made it to the highest level of studying but were the most intelligent and dedicated in their careers and life itself.” What football ultimately gave him, he adds, was something broader: perspective. “I respect football, because it taught
Advice for the next generation For current students and aspiring athletes, Majoro’s message is both simple and profound. “Always remember why you started,” he says. “Life has multiple layers and never allow obstacles to convince you otherwise. Failing is part of learning.” Pressure, he acknowledges, is unavoidable – but it is also something that must be managed internally. “The only place you can deal with pressure is within you,” he says. “You are the only one who knows exactly what you want in life.” Perhaps most importantly, he challenges the notion that one must choose between academics and sport. “They can coexist in each other’s space,” he says. “It has been done before, and nothing can stop them if they really put their mind to what they want to achieve. A story still unfolding Majoro’s journey – from university lecture halls to professional football, from near-retirement to renewed opportunity, and now into mentorship – is a reminder that success does not always follow expected timelines. Sometimes, it arrives later. Sometimes, it takes a different shape. But when it does, it carries with it the weight of experience, discipline and perspective. In that sense, his story is not only about football, or education, or even perseverance. It is about the quiet determination to keep going – to trust that the work being done, even when unseen, will one day find its moment. A delayed dream, after all, is not a denied one.
me a lot about life.” Staying grounded
In a profession often associated with rapid change and public attention, Majoro has remained anchored by a clear sense of identity. “I am human before I can be a professional footballer,” he says. “Being a pro never changed how I engage with people and relate to them. I respect them.” It is a philosophy rooted in self-awareness – in knowing where one comes from and not losing sight of it. “Knowing who you are and where you come from keeps you grounded.” This grounding has informed not only how he navigated his playing career, but how he approaches life beyond it. Both his academic and footballing journeys, he notes, instilled similar values. “They both taught me planning and always finishing what you started.” Life beyond the pitch If football provided a platform, education provided options – a reality Majoro does not take lightly. “It is always good to have options in life, and my qualifications are one of them,” he says. At the same time, he is clear-eyed about the challenges that life presents, regardless of background or success. “Life is tough for everyone,” he reflects. “It is how you navigate through it that matters. Life is all about what you make out of it – it has no manual after all.” This openness – about uncertainty, about the absence of guarantees – is part of what makes his story resonate. It is not a narrative of perfection, but of persistence. Giving back: the birth of MESSA Today, Majoro’s focus has shifted towards developing the next generation of footballers through the Major Elite Soccer Strikers Academy (MESSA), a project that is deeply personal. “It is one project that is close to my heart,” he says. MESSA is designed to tackle a gap he observed during his own playing career: the limited opportunity for strikers to develop specific finishing skills within team structures. “Head coaches have a lot on their plate,” he explains. “They have to focus on the entire team – tactics for upcoming games, fixing mistakes from previous ones. It is not always easy to focus specifically on improving attackers.” The academy, therefore, creates a space where strikers can refine the craft of finishing – an aspect of the game that often determines outcomes but receives limited dedicated attention. It is, in many ways, a continuation of Majoro’s own journey: identifying a gap, understanding its impact, and working to create a solution.
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