Real Betis defender Junior Firpo admits he's pinching himself over his success these past two years.

Firpo was playing in the lower leagues of Spanish football before Betis came in for him.

"I always had it clear in my mind that I wanted to be a footballer," he told Radio MARCA.

"It's taken a lot [of time and effort] and now it's all happening so quickly.

"If you told me two years ago that I'd be playing in [LaLiga Santander] and in the [Spanish Under-21] national team, I wouldn't have believed it."

Firpo was born in the Dominican Republic but moved to Malaga at the age of six, which was where his football career began.

"When I was nine, Malaga called me but by father thought I was too young," he said.

"I kept that desire of becoming a professional, but when I was 18 and watching young lads making their debuts on TV, I lost [enthusiasm] a bit.

"I even told my girlfriend that if no academy signed me that year, I'd quit. I'd decided [to quit], but in the last league game in the youth team, we played against Betis and they signed me."