Ben Foster on David De Gea, Manchester United’s ‘problem’ and the evolution of goalkeeping

Eric Cantona turned to acting, David Villa bought a football club and Rio Ferdinand wanted to become a boxer.

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For so many footballers that dreamed of becoming a professional growing up, the day they hang up their boots can come as a seismic shock. While financial security is not necessarily an issue for players retiring these days, how they replace the adrenaline rush of playing in front of thousands of fans each week is a question that many struggle to answer.

That desperate need to replicate the feeling of being a footballer grips many former professionals but, like he was as a player, Ben Foster is somewhat of an anomaly.

‘I don’t miss it one little bit,’ Foster told Metro.co.uk.

‘It’s cold this morning like 3 or 4 degrees and these are definitely the days that I don’t miss, when you have to get yourself out on the training pitch. Those first few dives you’re stiff as a board. It’s freezing cold, it’s raining, it’s wet.’

Once tipped to become England’s goalkeeper ‘for the next ten years’ by Sir Alex Ferguson only to earn eight caps, there has always been more than meets the eye to Foster. After leaving Manchester United in 2010, Foster bemoaned the ‘cut-throat’ attitude at Old Trafford and said it was a joy to be rid of the ‘pressure’ that came with playing at the Theatre of Dreams.

But while Foster was not your typical footballer, that refusal to conform to the accepted norms has helped him in his retirement. Before hanging up his gloves, Foster set-up the ‘The Cycling GK’ YouTube channel, which is a nod to his other passion in life. To date, his videos have amassed 85million views and the channel has 1.2m subscribers.

During his 21-year career, the role of goalkeeping