Ex-Chelsea and Leicester midfielder Danny Drinkwater hit out at a troll after posting a picture of himself on a building site.
Drinkwater retired from football last October after leaving Reading at the end of the 2021/22 season.
The 34-year-old has since occupied his time working on other ventures, but his restaurant business went bust in 2022.
His luck in the business world suffered further frustration when a 70 per cent share in a Manchester nightclub closed its doors last month.
Drinkwater is now working on a building site and shared a picture from his new role on Instagram.
Sadly, the former England international fell victim to jibes from online trolls, one in particular who wrote: “F***ing hell Danny you’ve hit rock bottom.”
That prompted Drinkwater to hit back, writing: “Some of these messages, behave.
“I love being on site grafting! It’s a choice.”
Drinkwater previously spoke of his battle with mental health as his career spiralled following a £35m switch to Chelsea in 2017.
The midfielder played a key role in Leicester’s miraculous title-winning campaign of 2016 and earned his way into the England set-up.
But things took a turn for the worse shortly after arriving in west London, as he struggled to recapture the form he showed at the King Power Stadium.
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Loan spells at Burnley, Aston Villa, Turkish side Kasimpasa and Reading followed before Drinkwater called time on his career having made just 23 appearances for the Blues over four years.
“It was the darkest I’d felt,” Drinkwater said of his mental health struggles.
“It was like I was drowning and had forgotten how to swim. Anyone who thinks earning good money will solve all of your problems is not true at all.
“Mental health is more important than physical. It was the darkest I’d ever felt.”
He explained his decision to retire on the High Performance Podcast, saying: “It’s been a long time coming maybe, especially with the last year, but I think it’s time to officially announce it now.
“I think I’ve been in limbo for too long. I’ve been wanting to play but not getting the opportunity to play at a standard or a level where I felt valued. I’m happy not playing football but I’m happy playing football, so do I just shake hands with the sport?
“It’s all I’ve known. It’s been my life since I was six, seven years old. It was never going to be an easy thing. If I was playing week in, week out and I had to say I’ve got to stop, maybe through injury or through just age, not being able to get about the pitch like I’d like to, I think it would be trickier.”