Having brought and end to his professional football career two years ago, Raul Meireles has been keeping himself busy since by co-owning and running a fashion boutique in northern Portugal with his wife.
However, the 35-year-old came barrelling back onto television screens over the weekend with a dramatic performance in the inaugural episode of the new Portuguese version of "Lip Sync Battle."
Meireles stunned the audience with a faithful rendition of a 1980s classic by famous Portuguese singer Antonio Variacoes, specifically his 1983 song "O Corpo E Que Paga" (The Body Pays).
The original song, which was a posthumous hit for Variacoes in 1997, is a jaunty number offset by powerful lyrics on the theme of anguish, both mental and physical.
"When the head does not break free from frustrations, inhibitions/All are gallows that tighten you/The body suffers/The privations, mutilations."
Afterward, the former Liverpool and Chelsea midfielder thanked all involved in the show for making it happen, describing his appearance as "a unique experience, a very difficult challenge, a new sensation, and above [I have] all a certain pride at being able to do something I honestly thought I couldn't do."
Full marks for attention to detail. As you can see, Meireles probably started with the gigantic grizzly beard and went on from there.