Ronaldo and depression: ‘I’ve been doing therapy for two and a half years, now it’s better’

From our correspondent Filippo Maria Ricci

October 15
– MADRID

Last night in Madrid was presented the film by Dazn dedicated to Ronaldo and entitled “The Phenomenon”. An exciting night like the documentary, in which Ronaldo opens by telling the drama he experienced between 1998 and 2002, with a double injury to his right knee.

TRUE EMOTION

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“Yes I cried – Ronaldo said last night on the stage of the Cine Callao -. Both the first time I saw him in London, but a couple of times tonight too. It’s 90 minutes, but for me it’s like a century, an eternity. With all the optimism in the world and with all the love I have for football there were times when I didn’t know where I was and where I was going. I didn’t understand why so many bad things happened to me. Because it happened to me, who am a good person, who am honest, nice, at least every now and then, who always smile. A person everyone loves. I didn’t understand it. But in the end, God reserves spectacular moments for honest people who behave well and work hard. Uffff, I get excited “.

MENTAL HEALTH

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Applause from the hall. Then Ronaldo starts again: “There is a lot of drama in the film. You go back and see the tough decisions you have to make when you’re a 22-23 year old boy. And without any psychological help. It was amazing. Being the protagonist of this story cost me a lot. At that time there was no talk of the mental health of players, today it is. At that time we were like warriors, they threw us into the arena to see who came out alive, it was more or less like this. The pressure that I was feeling was pushing me down each time and a boy so young doesn’t know how to behave, how to deal with all this, with so many very big things happening to him. I made a lot of effort, and I learned a lot by being slapped everywhere. Looking back today you see so much drama. But also a very very happy ending. I owe my life to football, I continue in football and I will stay in football all my life ”.

IN THERAPY

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Ronaldo also spoke with Marca about the psychological issue: “Today I am in therapy, I started two and a half years ago and it helped me to understand much better what I felt before. I look back and yes, I see that we have been exposed to very, very great mental stress and without any specific preparation. At that time no one cared about the mental health of the players. Today is different, there is great attention to the theme, the players are studied and analyzed. In my day these things were not done, and football can lead to great stress that can be decisive for the rest of life. The theme was totally ignored in our generation. Many players have gone through terrible times, including depression, due to a lack of privacy or freedom. The problems were very evident, but the solutions were not very available “. The demon of depression: Ronaldo the Phenomenon talks about it with the Spaniards of” Marca “, on the occasion of the presentation of Dazn’s docufilm on his life, entitled” The rise, fall and redemption of Ronaldo ”. Speaking with Roberto Carlos, in the documentary the Brazilian champion also touches on the topic of mental health. “Yes, today I do therapy – says the former idol of Inter fans (among many others) -. Two and a half years have passed and I understand much better what I had experienced before. I come from a generation in which you were thrown into the fray and you had to get by without the slightest possibility of asking for help. I look back and see that yes, we were exposed to very, very great mental stress and without any preparation for it. Also because there was no concern for the mental health of the Players. Today they are much better prepared, they receive the necessary medical care also to face the day and the players are studied more: the profiles of each one, how they react, how they should react … In my time there was none of this . It has been known for a lifetime that football can be a source of great stress and have an enormous weight in the rest of a player’s life “.

NO COMPARISON

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It was impossible, in those years, to confront someone. “Many, of course, have gone through terrible moments, including depression, due to lack of privacy, lack of freedom … It is true that the problems were very evident, but the solutions were not immediately available”.