One of Ireland's greatest ever strikers, a successful businessman, and a generous philanthropist, it's hard to imagine that Sunderland legend Niall Quinn once faced a very dark period in his life when he struggled to even get out of bed in the morning, but that is exactly where he found himself in the months after his retirement from the professional game.
And that feeling surprise that some would feel upon hearing about Quinn's fight with depression is something that he, and many others, are trying to combat, particularly in regards to former footballers, who are particularly vulnerable in the months after their retirement.
Quinn is behind an initiative called 'Catch A Falling Star', an organisation set up as part of new consultancy company Fleet Street Sport and Media, designed to ease the transition for footballers from professional to retired life.
The former Arsenal and Sunderland man cited his own experiences in battling a very dark period after he called time on his career, and highlighted some alarming statistics that suggest nowhere near enough is done to help footballers once they leave the game.
You end up in a spiral to a pit that's very tough to get out of, it's often been referred to as a death within your life.
Almost half of ex-professional footballers from the Premier League visit bankruptcy and 33 per cent end up divorced within three years of retirement, there are so many ex-players who inevitably become a pale shadows of their former selves.
Sports stars don't want to tackle retirement issues early.
The fact of the matter is they should have prepared far better and far earlier for the end of their career. Our group wants to be that provision.
The entire goal of the group is to educate players on what to expect once they retire, in order to better prepare them for the transition into retired life, something that will likely cost Quinn out of his own pocket, but it is very clear that there needs to be more done for the mental well being of professional athletes, so he deserves massive credit for undertaking this project.
Quinn also opened up about his own personal struggles, which took a lot of bravery and will go further in terms of opening up the discussion of depression and mental illness.
I had a tough first three years.
The first year was a real bad year after I quit. I had not prepared properly. It felt dark. I did not want to see anyone. I did not want anyone to make eye contact with me.
It was tough getting out of bed sometimes. Everything suffered. The relationship with my family and friends.
His involvement with Sunderland, taking over as chairman in 2006, is something that Quinn believes help get his mind focused and ultimately pull him out of the situation he found himself in, and now he is using his knowledge to help others that may be vulnerable and educate those who may be oblivious to the suffering of former footballers.
