24 October,2012 08:42 AM IST | | AFP
The 28-year-old former Chelsea and Real Madrid star told Dutch television channel NOS that retirement "haunts my thoughts and not just now" while on a visit to the Bavarian Alps to visit Dutch speed-skater Sven Kramer.
"I have wanted to give away my football boots and finish (my career). I have a litany of injuries as high as the ceiling. That makes me very sad sometimes."
"The pain comes out of my back and radiates into theu00a0hamstring. I have no date for a return to playing," he admitted.
