'Greedy', 'money-grabbing', 'selfish', 'spoilt', 'cosseted', 'preening' 'prima donnas' - they're just some of the words used to describe today's footballers. But now we can add 'kind', 'caring' and 'comforting' to the list.
"What" I hear you cry. Yes, it's true. Some of those highly-paid superstars have hearts as golden as their bank account – as illustrated in these touching photographs of Swedish midfielder Kim Kallstrom as he puts a strong arm around a frightened young mascot.
The picture was taken before the kick-off of Sweden's World Cup qualifying game with Germany.
The mascots for the game suffer from Williams Syndrome, and one of them - eight-year-old Max - is very sensitive to noise.
His nerves were perfectly understandable, as he was centre stage alongside some of the sport's biggest names in front of almost 49,251 football fans, not to mention a worldwide audience of millions.
But Kallstrom helped Max through his big moment, which has spread around social media platforms usually awash with negative and cynical aspects of 'the beautiful game'.
Altogether now...'Aaaaaah!'