There are, contrary to popular belief and assumption, many footballers who transition completely away from the game and into different, sometimes obscure, professions after hanging up their boots.

The cycle doesn't discriminate, and even those to have once graced the highest level still find themselves at risk of falling into a career that they didn't envisage once football comes to an end.

That's not to say they don't like it, though, and quite a lot of players are actually glad to get away from the sport when it's all said and done. Some are simply relieved to escape the spotlight and the constant watchful gaze which comes with playing at the top of the game, with that pressure alleviated tenfold in a variety of other professions.

Hugo Porifio, who earned three senior caps for Portugal before gracing English football with West Ham and later Nottingham Forest, may just fit into that category, and has enjoyed a particularly surprising career path following his retirement back in 2008.

Ex-West Ham, Nottingham Forest star Hugo Porfirio is now an Uber driver in Portugal

Whereas many of Porfirio's teammates through the 1990s and early 2000s would remain in the game, the Lisbon-born starlet embarked on a different route.

A playing career which started at boyhood club Sporting CP before taking in stints with West Ham, Racing Santander, Benfica, Nottingham Forest, Al-Nassr and a variety of other Portuguese outfits, came to an end in 2008, as Porfirio perhaps never quite delivered on his full potential.

The ex-winger, who featured for Portugal at age-group level and even earned three senior caps alongside the likes of Luis Figo, returned to where it all started by transitioning into a scouting role with the Lisbon giants, although he departed in 2013 and hasn't been involved in football since.

His whereabouts have long remained a mystery, yet now, it has been revealed that the former West Ham and Forest attacker is working in Portugal as an Uber driver.

It's anything but a well-trodden post-retirement path after football, it must be said, yet it would appear as though Porfirio is enjoying his role - which has recently come to light in a surprise revelation.

Hugo Porfirio experience shared in new update

Porfirio's shock job was unveiled by Portuguese influencer Andre Ramalho, who enjoyed a chance encounter with the now-53-year-old and realised his identity after calling an Uber.

In a video which subsequently went viral, Ramalho described his surprise at seeing Porfirio "doing something so ordinary" following his playing career but praised the ex-Portugal international's humble and friendly manner.

He explained: "We had a ten-minute walk to make, but we were late and tired, so decided to call an Uber.

“We were amazed by the guy driving the car. How could he be doing something so ordinary? This is the fella who played at Euro 96, and played alongside Rui Costa, Luis Figo and Vitor Baia.

“He is the coolest guy of all time, and a great bloke as well."

With that in mind, it's probably safe to assume that Porfirio was given a five-star rating by the influencer.

Hugo Porfirio offered West Ham glimpses before Nottingham Forest spell

The reality is that much of Porfirio's career was underlined by a lack of consistency, with the attacker eventually fizzling out and failing to build upon the promise he displayed to earn a trio of Portugal caps in his early 20s.

West Ham and Nottingham Forest fans, what are your memories of Hugo Porfirio? Are you shocked by his job now? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

By the age of 23, Porfirio had moved on to West Ham after an encouraging campaign with Portuguese top-flight outfit Uniao Leiria.

His time on loan in East London was inconsistent, too, and he hardly pulled up any trees, but still managed to post one of the better goalscoring seasons of his career by finding the back of the net on four occasions across all competitions, with league strikes arriving against Blackburn Rovers alongside goals in cup clashes with Nottingham Forest and Wrexham.

He wasn't an ever-present with the Hammers, mind you, and would quickly find himself in Spain with Racing Santander before moving back to England two years later when he joined Forest on loan.

Porfirio's brief stint at the City Ground was even more forgettable, and his nine loan appearances yielded merely a solitary goal against Sheffield Wednesday.

He spent much of the remainder of his career playing in Portugal and slowly slipping down the leagues and out of memory, yet his earlier years shouldn't be forgotten, and, fortunately for the winger-turned-Uber driver, the peak of his powers remain in the consciousness among older fans within his homeland.