From The Guardian, Wednesday 8 January 2014

Former Premier League footballer and German international talks to Raphael Honigstein about how he wanted to tell the world he was gay while he was still playing in Germany for Wolfsburg, but was advised against it
Thomas Hitzlsperger had managed to stay away from his computer for a long time. In the morning he had become the highest-profile footballer to announce he is gay, and in the hours afterwards he had not checked the public reaction. When I speak to him I tell him that support has been flooding in from fans, fellow footballers, well-wishers – and yes, even Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband.