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

Former attacker France and current selector Until the age of 21 of your country, Thierry Henrystated that during and after his football career he suffered from depression, a problem he had had since childhood and which resurfaced while he was training in Canada during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I lied for a long time because society was not ready to listen to what I had to say,” the 1998 world champion, now 46, said in an English-language podcast interview.Diary from CEO“, released this Monday.

Arsenal’s all-time leading goalscorer claims that this problem was with him throughout his years of stardom, without even fully realizing it.

“I have had depression throughout my career and since birth,” Henry said. “Did I know that? No. Did I do anything to fix it? No. But I adapted to a certain way of life,” he said.

In life, “you have to put one foot in front, then the other, and go. That’s what I was told from a very young age,” he explains. “I never stopped walking” except during the Covid-19 pandemic when “I couldn’t take it anymore” which made him “start to understand” what’s happening.

Henry He retired from playing in 2014. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, he was in Canada, away from his children, who were in Europe.

He was in jail “for a year,” during the worst months of the health crisis. Canadawhere he was in charge Montreal Impactfrom the North American Championship.

Then he started “crying almost every day for no reason,” he says. “Tears came alone. Because? I don’t know, but maybe they’ve been there for a long time,” he answered himself.

Henry He also hinted that this mental fragility may have come from his childhood and constant seeking of approval from his father, who often criticized his performance on the field.

This paternal presence “helped the athlete to a certain extent,” but “it didn’t help the person that much,” he concluded.