Sam Smalling persuaded her husband to turn vegan, a move that helped him to play 46 matches last season

If there is one person that Chris Smalling credits for rescuing his Manchester United career, it is his wife.

Sam Smalling, model-turned-photographer and animal-rights campaigner, persuaded her husband to turn vegan last year.

At first, the United defender was sceptical about whether he would be able to consume the protein that a professional athlete needs in their diet. He started out by cutting red meat from his diet but now he is a fully fledged vegan and is in the best shape of his life.

“My wife has been vegan for a while; she often tried to persuade me over the years to go vegan,” Smalling said.

“I wasn’t fully vegan and when we would eat out I would eat what I would normally have.