Paul Pogba, with an open heart: “I started with depression when I was with Mourinho”

Paul Pogba is already with his teammates from the French national team to face the two friendly matches against Ivory Coast and South Africa, two of the teams that were left out of the World Cup after failing to qualify for the CAF (African Football Confederation) qualifying.

With his ticket already secured to Qatar 2022, the Manchester United midfielder gave an interview to the French half Figaro in which he talked about one of the toughest moments he had to go through during his career.

“I started with depression when I was with Mourinho,” the former Juventus player revealed in an extensive interview, adding: “They judge us every three days, we have to be well all the time, when we have concerns like everyone else, whether it be with our teammates, our coach, on a day-to-day basis...”

The 29-year-old went through these mood swings during 2018, when he starred in some ups and downs with the Portuguese coach at United: “Sometimes you don't know you're depressed, you just want to isolate yourself, be alone, and those are clear signs.”

“Personally, it started when I was with José Mourinho in Manchester. I once had a great relationship with Mourinho, everyone saw him, and the next day you don't know what happened. That's the strange thing I had with Mourinho and I can't explain it to you because even I don't know it,” he explained.

Deepening the symptoms, Paul Pogba continued: “You will inevitably feel it in your body, in your head, and it may take a month, even a year, when you don't feel well. But you dare not say it, at least publicly.”

“Everything is in the head, the mind controls everything and all elite athletes go through these moments, but few talk about it,” he acknowledged.

Later, he told how he managed to break out of that void and how friends and family are indispensable factors for this: “I focus on my family, my friends. When I can't do it alone, I talk a lot with 'Tonton Pat' (Patrice Evra), former players who have been through this, because they will understand you right away. Talking, being heard, getting out all that anger and depression that eats away at you is obligatory for me. In football we are not superheroes, only human beings.”

“You ask yourself questions, you question whether you are to blame because you have never experienced these moments in your life. We make a lot of money and we don't complain about the truth, but that doesn't stop us from going through more difficult times than others, like everyone else in life,” he reflected.

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