FORMER Chelsea star Andre Schurrle has ditched football for a brutal new sport that will leave his “body screaming to stop.”
The German World Cup winner spent 18 months at Stamford Bridge between 2013 and 2015.
Schurrle also starred in England for Chelsea’s west London rivals Fulham.
But after retiring from football aged 29, the German has since embarked on a very different career.
Schurrle has enjoyed various extreme hiking challenges around Europe over the past few years.
In January, he completed an outrageous ‘Iceman’ challenge that saw him climb a mountain in the freezing cold wearing just his shorts.
And now, Schurrle is taking his love of extreme sports to new lengths.
This time, the ace is going to race in an epic ultra marathon.
The Last Soul Ultra takes place in his homeland of Germany.
It sees 100 athletes fight for glory on an epic 6.7km lapped course.
Participants must complete one lap every hour.
And the last athlete standing is crowned the winner.
The true test of endurance is sure to leave some in agony.
But Schurrle can’t wait to take part in the biggest race of his life.
The ace declared: “I’m fascinated by how far you can go when your body is already screaming to stop.
“This very moment — when only your head is making the decision — is the core of the Last Soul Ultra.
“There are certain things that I see as challenges. I want to benefit from these difficult moments in my life.
“Of course that also involves extremes. But if I’m honest, I don’t feel like I’ve arrived in extreme sports.”
Schurrle was once regarded as one of Europe’s top wingers, having first starred at Bundesliga clubs Mainz and Bayer Leverkusen.
Chelsea then signed Schurrle for £18million in 2013.
And he went on to score 14 times in 65 games while winning the Premier League and Carabao Cup under Jose Mourinho.
Schurrle then spent 18 months at Wolfsburg where he won the German Cup and German SuperCup.
A further two-year spell at Borussia Dortmund resulted in another German Cup.
And Schurrle then returned to England with Fulham in 2018, scoring six times in 25 outings for the Cottagers.
The following season saw him loaned out to Russian side Spartak Moscow.
But despite being shy of 30, Schurrle decided it was time to hang up his boots.
He retired with 57 Germany caps to his name, scoring an impressive 22 times in the process.
Schurrle bagged the assist for Mario Gotze’s extra-time winner in the 2014 World Cup final against Argentina.
And his last cap for Germany came in 2017.
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