"After the World Cup, everything fell apart; I wanted to give up"

Mental health is and should always come first. Richarlison recently said that psychological help saved his life and now, on ESPN, he revealed how hard he had been going through a tough depression that, thankfully, he has managed to get out of.

"I wanted to go home, to my room... I don't know what was going through my mind. I don't know what was going through my head. I was talking to my father about giving up. What I went through during the World Cup and discovering things about people I had lived with for 7 years was crazy," he said.

The World Cup, which for any footballer is a dream, turned out to be a nightmare. "I suffered a lot of attacks after the World Cup. I went to my father, who was the one who had pursued my dream of playing football with me, and I said: 'Dad, I want to give up. It's crazy," he said.

"I'd just played in a World Cup, man, at my peak, I was reaching my limit, you know? I don't know, I'm not going to talk about killing myself, but I was in a depression there, and I wanted to give up. It seemed like everything was falling apart. The World Cup and the problems at home affected me a lot. Even I, who seemed to be mentally strong. After the World Cup it seemed like it all fell apart."

Richarlison re-emphasised the importance of seeking specialist advice in these circumstances: "I think the therapist, like it or not, saved me, saved my life. I only thought rubbish... Even on Google, I only searched for rubbish, I only wanted to see rubbish about death," added Richarlison.

"Today I can say, look for a psychologist, if you need a psychologist, look for one because it's nice for you to open up like that, for you to be talking to the person... because it is very important and, whether we like it or not, it saves lives," concluded the Brazilian striker.

 

March 27, 2024