Former football official Babak Rafati has told the incredible story of how Bastian Schweinsteiger sent him a letter during a period when he was recovering from a failed suicide attempt that stopped him trying again.
Depression in sport, as in everyday life, is something that has become more and more prevalent in the public's consciousness. German football had one of the most public stories of the illness when goalkeeper Robert Enke committed suicide aged just 32.
Just two years later and Germany was again struck with a lower profile story of someone in football seeing their depression leading them to suicide. However in the case of official Babak Rafati he actually failed and ended up in hospital.
Rafati found himself considering another attempt but revealed that a letter from then Bayern Munich captain Bastian Schweinsteiger stopped him, an incredible gesture from out of nowhere:
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The 46 year old said, "I woke in a hospital bed. It was a terrible moment, and my first thought was that I would plan things next time I tried to kill myself and do the job properly.
"I had been bullied for 18 months beforehand. People wanted to get rid of me for telling the truth. Since my suicide attempt no-one from the German FA has been in touch, but all my fellow refs got in contact.
"And Bastian Schweinsteiger wrote me a letter that moved me greatly. There was no ulterior motive on his part, as he knew that I would no longer be able to referee after this incident.
"He wrote: 'Mr Rafati, people often make mistakes in life, but we simply have to make comebacks even more often. I wish you all the very best.'
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"It was an incredibly big human gesture on his part. Depression is still a huge taboo in football. Since that time I have been working as a mind coach with three Bundesliga players.
"I can rule out wanting to kill myself again. I now know that I was crazy, and life is too beautiful to destroy oneself."
Sometimes it's the small things that can help a person who is struggling with their demons. It's a stark reminder that just talking to someone who you think is just down in the dumps could be a huge help.
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Schweinsteiger is clearly a legend both on and off the pitch.
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