When making the most difficult decision of your footballing career, who better to speak to than Thierry Henry?
Talking exclusively to our 'In Lockdown' podcast, Fabrice Muamba revealed how a conversation with the king in 2012 led to him retiring from the sport following a heart attack.
"They said it is nothing short of a miracle," Muamba said. "I am fortunate that I am still here and even prior to the accident me and Thierry were talking on the phone, on messenger, and he told me, 'Just go out there and make sure you do well against Tottenham'.
"I remember missing a good chance to score a goal and then I came to the halfway line and I felt very dizzy. Then... boom! It happened! To be fair to Thierry he was in New York then and he still came to see me.
"He came to see me and he came through the back entrance of the hospital. Don't get me wrong, most of the guys came through the front entrance but he came in through the back entrance and spent about 10 or 20 minutes with me.
"I remember saying hello to him but because I was so drugged up I couldn't recall everything. I remember speaking to him, then falling asleep, then him speaking to my dad. He literally spent 20 minutes with me and then he flew back home straight away.
"That was within the first three or four days. He came straight away. Thierry is a good guy. When I had to decide to stop I was going to New York for an event and I called him and said, 'I'm in New York' and he said, 'Come over'. So I went to his place and we had an open conversation and he gave me his honest opinion. He said, 'Listen, if you play you're not going to be sure [about your condition]. If you stop you're still going to be here so which is it? You decide.'
"That was his opinion to me. Yes [that helped me make my decision]. He put it on the table because I was adamant about going back and playing. It just makes sense: if he was saying it and other people were saying the same thing, then why not just make a decision? Then when I went to see the specialist, we decided that was it."
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