The ‘Kilgetty Messi’ - Liam Cullen struck again for Swansea City, as his side came away from the Stadium of Light with a 1-3 win over Sunderland, to lift the Swans to 11th in the table.

Cullen’s strike on the 70th minute put the Swans back in front, after the hosts had levelled against Joel Piroe’s opening goal. A further goal from fellow Welshman Oli Cooper saw Swansea seal the 3 points.

After his side’s 4-0 thrashing of Watford over the festive period, Swansea City head coach Russell Martin hailed ‘the Tenby Messi’ after Cullen an academy product from Kilgetty shone with a goal and an assist in the victory.

However, a post on social media from Swansea City’s official Twitter account today (Saturday, January 14) would suggest that Cullen would rather be known as the ‘Kilgetty Messi’ - referencing his home village.

Twenty-four-year-old Cullen, has had to be patient this season, with a shoulder injury playing a part in limiting his game time, but from long journeys back and fore to his home village, to being a mascot at the Liberty Stadium, to leaving home at 15, it has all been with one thing in mind to succeed at Swansea City.

“Whenever I needed to travel to train or play, if my dad did not take me it was my mum or my grandad - so, without the sacrifices they made I would not have done anywhere near as much as I have so far,” Cullen told the Club’s website back in 2020.

“I tell them that all the time, I want them to know how grateful I am. They are my biggest fans and I love having them there.

“In fact my father was my first football coach when I played for Kilgetty from when I was about five or six. He still thinks he is the best coach I have ever had! But we always had a sporting background as a family.

“Dad played a number of different sports as a kid, and my grandfather Graham Jenkins played for Swansea – although not for the first team – when he was about 18 or 19. He also played for Wales at youth level.

“He is very highly thought of where we are from, and he is viewed as one of the most talented footballers Kilgetty has produced. So I always had football around me, and I’ve just followed the family footsteps.

“I’ve been motivated by wanting to try and go one better than everyone, because I love playing and that’s what I always wanted to do,” he continued.

“From the moment my father took me to my first game – it was a 0-0 draw against York City – and we sat in the double-decker stand behind the goal at the Vetch, this has been my club,” he says.

“When I joined at eight, I viewed it as me representing the club I support and love. So there’s no half measures.

“When I was home in the summer and played football or cricket with my friends, I felt I could be a kid then.

“But I never felt that way playing or training with Swansea. I could not be a kid then, it mattered too much to treat it like that.

“I was offered trials at Swansea and Cardiff, and my father never even had to ask. It was only ever going to be Swansea. Once I signed it was serious for me.

“From there it was all focus on football. My parents made sure I did work hard at school, and it did not suffer because of football.

“I did well in school and got good grades, but everything else was football. People would laugh at me when I said I wanted to be a footballer. They did not think I was serious, but I was and so were my family.

“I used to go and watch games and I would tell my parents: ‘I am going to play on that pitch one day!’.”