Gaizka Mendieta and Stiliyan Petrov are determined for others not to make the same mistakes and suffer in the way they did, as they outlined the aims behind a new project committed to helping footballers with the transition into life after playing.
The pair are two of five former professionals involved in Player 4 Player, which deals with areas ranging from finance and brand management to education and lifestyle.
They are joined on the seven-strong team by Emile Heskey, Michael Johnson and Gareth Farrelly, plus communications expert Pedro Pinto and entrepreneur Neil Meredith.
Speaking about the inspiration behind the initiative, ex-Barcelona midfielder Mendieta said: We felt that there was something in football that was kind of missing.
We know it per…