(LifeSiteNews) — Former Manchester United soccer star Antonio Valencia helped convince a man who wanted to jump off a bridge not to take his own life.
Valencia stepped in to stop a man from committing suicide on a bridge in his home country of Ecuador. The former Manchester United captain revealed on social media that he spotted the young man when he was preparing to jump off a bridge. He shared a video on Instagram that shows himself and several police officers in conversation with the individual standing on the edge of the bridge.
“Last night, I had an experience that was far from pleasant,” Valencia wrote in his post. “A young man wanted to take his own life from this bridge, and he was very young.”
“I got out of the vehicle and approached him. I didn’t save him, but I did try to talk to him,” he continued.
“Thank God he recognized me, and I tried to give him some words of encouragement. It was very hard.”
“Thank God his family arrived, and he decided not to take his own life. Let’s take care of ourselves, please. Our minds, our hearts, mental health is very important. Let’s take care of all of this, please. Life is very fragile,” the retired soccer star concluded.
Fulham midfielder and former Valencia teammate Andreas Pereira applauded him on Instagram: “Great work, brother. You always try to help others. Good job, bro.”
The Instagram post has earned 47,000 likes so far.
Valencia played for Manchester United between 2009 and 2019 and was the team captain under coach Jose Mourinho. During his stint with the decorated English club, he won two Premier League titles and the Europa League. He retired from professional soccer in 2021.
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