Former Manchester United striker David Bellion has explained why he did not quite make the grade at Old Trafford.
The French attacker is now the creative director of Parisian club Red Star, where he sets the tone for the club in a number of ways.
And while he says he did not quite have the necessary means to make the step up when he was signed from Sunderland in 2003, he does not regret any of his choices.
"I don't regret it because it made me who I am right now - that passion I had for many things," Bellion told the i.
"Many football players only think about football. They don't go to the museum. They don't care about this, they don't care about that. It's like being a robot of football.
"And, honestly, if you tell me to do that for one, two or three years, until you get the Golden Ball, but you will have to sacrifice your free time, I would not trade it.
"I love freedom too much. I love culture too much. I don't regret the kind of person I am.
"Sometimes, I maybe have regrets about making a mistake in football, but life is an adventure and who I am now, at 37, is the result of who I was before.
"Everybody in football has their own character. A lot of people thought I was either a weirdo, or too kind, or I was this, or I was that, but I'm not going to change just for the glory of football.
"When I had to give up because it was too much for me, then I became a creative director. All of the images I saw, all the magazines I read, all the movies I watched, all the fashion shows I went to, brought me a lot of ideas that I could put into football and my creative direction.
"There are some players that have got the Golden Ball, I guess, or they are world champions, but they're not happy the day after that. They're happy just because they made it, but what's next?"
