FABIO COENTRAO ditched professional football aged 33 to become a fisherman.
The Portuguese former full-back played alongside Cristiano Ronaldo both with Real Madrid and his country.
YOUTUBE @Brands-ChannelFabio Coentrao has become a fisherman since hanging up his boots[/caption]
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.The Portuguese star was pals with Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid[/caption]
Coentrao and Ronaldo became pals during their years of playing together.
But unlike CR7, Coentrao hasn’t opted to play on deep into his 30s.
The former left-sided player was on the books at Real Madrid between 2011 and 2018.
He played over 100 times for the Spanish giants, twice winning the Champions League.
Following his Real Madrid departure he played for Rio Ave in Portugal, before calling it a day to focus on his other passion – fishing.
Coentrao bought his first fishing boat while on the books at Real, having been raised to love the ocean by his father.
He said: “The roots have been here since I was born.
“My father always had a boat, he was really into fishing.”
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Coentrao, now 35, added: “I used to go a lot with my father. I liked it very much.
“Whenever I had that bit of time off, whenever I was on holiday, my life was… it was the sea, it was fishing.
“And of course I knew that one day football would end, I would have to take another direction in my life.
“My happiness is this land, the sea. And obviously that being so, I want to lead this life.”
As of last year, Coentrao had built a team of 45 people, working across three active ships.
He is delighted to have numerous younger people working with him, as he is passionate about getting people to follow in his footsteps by working in the industry.
While Ronaldo loves spending time on superyachts, Coentrao is quite content on a trawler.
Speaking to the Empower Brands Channel, he said: “Life in the sea is not a shame, as many people think.
“It is a job like any other. Not only that, the sea is beautiful and we need it.
“It has that there are people working here and the profession should be respected like any other.”
Getty – ContributorCoentrao, 35, played in Madrid alongside compatriots Ronaldo and Pepe[/caption]