Arsenal captain Per Mertesacker has revealed he considered retirement after the death of his close friend and former team-mate Robert Enke.
Enke, who played with Mertesacker at Hannover, was just 32 when he committed suicide in 2009 after a six-year struggle with depression.
And the trauma of his friend’s death caused him to evaluate his playing career.
In an interview with Spiegel, the Germany international fought back to tears to describe just how the incident affected him.
He said: “Even I didn't know how badly he was doing. That says something, doesn't it?