Chris Smalling on Sir Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho and search for new club

It is clear from the first answer of a fascinating 45-minute chat that Chris Smalling is no ordinary footballer.

A career that took the 36-year-old from non-league Maidstone to a Champions League final in the space of three years, has, so far, led to 580 club appearances in three countries, playing the majority for Sir Alex Ferguson or Jose Mourinho, plus 31 England caps and trophies with Manchester United and Roma.

It has now brought Smalling and his family back to the north west of England to figure out his next steps.

Smalling has plans for his career after playing but presently, he is focused on finding a new club.

“I know my body now better than when I was 26 and that’s shown in the games I’m playing,” he said.

“When I was younger, I remember Sir Alex was implementing certain things, like Ryan Giggs doing yoga.

“When you get beyond 30, each year is precious in terms of enjoying playing and being passionate about football.

“Actual training is a very short time. The longevity and recovery starts very early in terms of what I’m eating and doing between sessions, even down to my supplements now.

“In pre-season we have blood tests and the clubs make recommendations. I went one step further and kind of had genetics testing, which goes deep into everything. A lot of my supplements were changed because of that.”

Smalling was an ever-present for Al-Fayha in the Saudi Pro-League last season, something he is particularly proud of.

His career is not over. Yet wind back 18 years and Smalling did not imagine he was destined to come anywhere near as far as he has.

“It wasn’t even plan D,” he recalled.

“I was playing at Maidstone, but I was going to university to study financial economics.

“I had everything set out. I already had my A levels, and I was looking at other non-league clubs near Leicester because I still wanted to play.

“It was very late in the summer when the opportunity came around. I knew it was a slim chance even to be offered but I needed to do everything I could.”

The offer was from Fulham. Roy Hodgson watched one practice game, called Smalling into his office and offered a contract.

“It wasn’t even a full week,” said Smalling. “I didn’t have any time to get my head around it. I was just in total shock.”

It wouldn’t be the last time Hodgson put Smalling into a position where he had no time to think.