“I lied for a long time because society was not ready to listen to me.”

former attacker France and current selector Under-21 of your country, Thierry HenrySaid he suffered from depression during and after his time as a football player, a problem he had since childhood and which resurfaced when he was training in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I lied for a long time because society was not ready to listen to me,” the 1998 world champion, now 46, said in an interview in English with the podcast.Diary of one ceo”, released this Monday.

The top scorer in the history of English Arsenal claims that this problem stuck with him during the years when he shone in the stadiums, even though he was not fully aware of it.

“I have had depression throughout my career and since birth,” Henry said. “I knew? No, did I do anything to address it? No, but I’ve adopted a certain way of life,” he said.

In life “you have to put one foot forward and then the other, and keep going.” That’s what they told me from a very young age,” he says. “I never stopped walking” except during the COVID-19 pandemic, where “I couldn’t take it anymore,” so it “began to make sense” to him. what was happening.

Henry He retired as a player in 2014. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, he was in Canada, away from his children, who were in Europe.

In the worst months of the health crisis, he was imprisoned “for a year” Canadawhere he directed montreal effectFrom the North American Championships.

Then, he says, he began “crying almost every day for no reason.” “The tears came alone. Because I don’t know, but maybe they were there for a long time,” he answered himself.

Henry He also explained that this mental weakness may have come from his childhood and his constant search for approval from his father, who often criticized his performance on the field.

That paternal presence “helped the athlete to some extent,” but “it didn’t help the human being that much,” he concluded.