Barcelona’s Ronald Araujo took the brave decision to prioritise his mental health last year, and has now opened up on his time away from football.
The Uruguayan chose to publicly reveal he was stepping away to prioritise his health, rather than giving ‘personal reasons’ for his six weeks out.
The defender was sent off away at Chelsea in the Champions League on November 25th and later returned for Barcelona‘s Supercopa win on January 11th.
Reflecting on that moment against Chelsea, he said: “In the moment, with the adrenaline rush, you just go for it.
“You feel sad, but then, when the game is over, it all comes crashing down on you.
“I already felt like I wasn’t okay, that’s the truth, but out of habit you try to keep going, and sometimes you need help.
“I’d been dealing with anxiety for a year and a half that turned into depression, and I was playing like that.
“That doesn’t help, because on the field you don’t really feel like yourself.
“You know your worth and what you can contribute on the field, and when I wasn’t feeling well, I knew something was wrong.
“That day I realised that was it, that I needed to talk to professionals and the club so they could help me.”
Araujo went on to praise his teammates and in particular Barcelona sporting director Deco who handled the situation delicately.
He also said of coach Hansi Flick:” He took it very personally. He was upset about the situation.
“Flick knows my abilities, and it was clear I wasn’t performing to my full potential. He knew something was wrong.
“From the beginning, he sent me messages telling me to take it easy and recover, that the most important thing was to get through it well.
“That gives you peace of mind to recover because you know you have the support of the club, the manager, and your teammates.
“After making the decision, I had some really bad days; I didn’t want to get out of bed. It was tough because I’d always dreamed of playing football, and now I had to stop.
“Thank God my wife was key: she’s been incredibly strong and supported me.
“And then the messages from my teammates started pouring in—really kind messages that really lifted my spirits. They all wrote to me. It was a huge motivation.
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