Credit: X
Thierry Henry, the former FIFA World Cup winner for France, opened up about his battle with depression from childhood days during a candid interview. The 46-year-old, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the Premier League, admitted that he didn’t do anything about his mental health struggles throughout his footballing journey.
Also Watch: Jude Bellingham wins hearts by sharing blanket with cold ball boy in Copa del Rey win
During his club football career, Thierry Henry scored 290 goals in 600 matches for various teams like Monaco, Juventus, Arsenal, Barcelona, and New York Red Bulls, winning tournaments like the Premier League, La Liga, and UEFA Champions League, among others. He got 51 goals in 123 matches for France during his international footballing career, securing the FIFA World Cup 1998, UEFA European Championship 2000, and the FIFA Confederations Cup 2003.
The former French striker was speaking on “The Diary of A CEO” podcast with Steven Bartlett, where he detailed his struggles with depression and his strained relationship with his father. He was quoted as saying, “Throughout my career, I must have been in depression. Did I do something about it? No. But to understand the person that I became, you have to understand what happened early.”
Watch the snippet of Thierry Henry discussing his traumatic childhood here:
“When I was young I didn't see a lot of love, affection, hugging. My dad, the first time he took me in his arms, said, 'This baby will be an amazing football player'. And from that point, I was programmed to succeed. My dad took full control of my body and it was tough,” he added.
Thierry Henry narrated an incident of his childhood that changed his footballing career for the better and said, “One day we played a game, I was 13 years old and we won the game 6-0. I scored the six goals but it was always what I didn't do. 'You missed that control,' 'You missed that cross,' 'You missed at this,' 'You missed at that'. And it can make you or break you. I decided it was going to make me.”
When Steven Bartlett asked him, “If I was watching you, what would I have seen?” Thierry Henry responded, “Me crying almost every day. But it was the young Thierry.”
