"?Manchester United midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger has revealed how close he was to choosing to be a professional skier over professional football during his upbringing.
The World Cup winning Germany international has endured a troubled time with the Red Devils following his move from Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich, with injuries and a lack of belief in his ability from both former boss Louis van Gaal and current manager Jose Mourinho.
The 32-year-old German has made just 18 appearances for the club since his transfer in 2015, but speaking to "?ManchesterUnited.com, Schweinsteiger has admitted that during his childhood he was very close to steering well clear of football altogether after speaking about growing up with a passion for skiing.
But the box-to-box midfielder jokingly suggested that the warmer weather drove him to pursue his footballing career that has seen him pick up eight Bundesliga titles and one Champions League crown.
"Where I grew up was close to Austria, with big mountains and my father actually won ski races," began Schweinsteiger.
Ana Ivanovic has announced her retirement from tennis. Perhaps in solidarity with her husband Bastian Schweinsteiger.
"I grew up with that. When I was 14-years-old I had to decide whether to continue as a ski racer or be a footballer 100 per cent. So I decided, let's say, to go for the warm weather!"
Despite his skiing background, the footballing veteran suggested he never considered the dangerous side to it, but was more wary of lugging the equipment around with him: "I was not thinking if it was dangerous or not.
"It was more that you have to wake up very early and there was heavy stuff as you have to carry your equipment with you, so I decided on playing football."