When Total Football presenter Aisling O'Reilly sat down with James McClean to chat about his amazing career, she asked him what he would say to his younger self?
The answer - "Just be unapologetically you." It's safe to say that mantra has served him well.
In the video up top, the Derry man takes us through his memories playing for club and country, starting with the first of his 103 caps for the Republic of Ireland.
McClean said: "It's what you dream of growing up and I think every young fella that plays football in Ireland grows up with a dream of playing for Ireland. For that day to eventually happen, and to achieve that dream...putting it into words doesn't really do it justice."
And when it comes to team-mates he says the best ever was Ireland's top goal scorer. "I know it's quite the obvious one, but probably Robbie - Robbie Keane. He's a legend of the game for what he's done in an Ireland shirt."
His club career came full circle when he returned to Derry City, having left the Candystripes to sign for Sunderland in 2011 for £350,000.
"I remember when I left, I always had the sentimental way of, look, I started there (Derry), I want to finish my career there. You know, I've been quite fortunate to have a long career in England, so now to come back here, it's nice."
But, before he came home, he had taste of Hollywood at Wrexham and their Netflix series. So, what was it like as a reality TV star?
"Believe it or not when you first hear about the cameras and you think, oh, they're going to be in your face every day and they'll be following you around, it's going to be a bit weird, but they're actually quite good. They just blend into the background."
In the end we went all the way back to the start with a throwback picture of a teenage McClean. No apologies - just him being him.
Stream all episodes of Total Football, presented by Aisling O'Reilly and DavidMC, on RTÉ Player here!
You can watch James as a pundit on RTÉ's World Cup 2026 coverage - all 104 games are live across RTÉ2 & RTÉ Player.
