Adriano was one of the brightest stars of the early 2000s and looked set to be the next big thing at Inter before his career petered out in relative anonymity.
The Brazilian has revealed in the past that he struggled with alcoholism following his father's death which lead to him leaving for his native country.
However, there was another reason Adriano was never able to return to his best, as he told the Players Tribune: "When I popped my Achilles in 2011? Man, I knew that's when it was over for me, physically," he explained.
"You can get surgery and rehabilitate it and try to carry on, but you will never be the same. My explosiveness was gone. My balance was gone. Shit, I still walk with a limp. I still have a hole in my ankle.
It was the same thing when my father died. Except the scar was inside me.
"Man, what happened to Adriano?"
"Brother, it's simple. I have a hole in my ankle, and one in my soul."
Adriano's story will forever remain one of the biggest what-ifs in world football, cut short due to some heartbreaking events and misfortune.
