Juventus striker Alvaro Morata admitted that he came close to suffering with depression during his time with Chelsea previously.
The Spanish forward was highly rated during his time with Real Madrid initially, but struggled for minutes with Karim Benzema in competition for the role.
That situation worked out well for Juventus who made their move to sign him, and he helped us to reach the final of the Champions League in his opening season in Italy, earning the record for most consecutive Champions League games scored in (five), after scoring in both semi-finals against Real Madrid before scoring against Barcelona in the final, and starting the next season with goals in his next two appearances with Man City and Sevilla.
His impressive two seasons with the Old Lady convinced his former club to exercise a buy-back clause in his contract, where he again grew frustrated with his minutes and was eventually sold to Chelsea 12 months later.
Things did not work out in England however, his monster fee did not work out as a success for the Blues, and they eventually allowed the Spaniard to join Atletico Madrid on loan 18 months into his time with Chelsea, and the striker insists that he believes that he may not have struggled in the Premier League if he had spoken to a psychiatrist in his first season.
“I’ve never had depression and I hope I never do, but I came close,” Morata said in an interview with El Mundo(via Goal.com). “I don’t believe it is given the importance that it should.
“When your head doesn’t work well, you are your worst enemy. During those times, it doesn’t matter what you do, you are always fighting against yourself. Depression is an illness just like breaking your ankle.”
Morata moves onto claim that talking to a professional should be an essential thing, and he believes this could well be compulsory one day.
“Just as we train in the gym or on the pitch to improve our technique and our tactical abilities, I believe the mind is something you also have to train,” the 28-year-old said. “You have to be ready and that [seeing a psychologist] helps you a lot.
“Even for my generation, in recent years, it wasn’t seen as something normal to see a psychologist – but inevitably, it has to be something normal. Today it is more common and there will be a day when it will be compulsory. There are people that go through difficult times.
“Had I had a professional, close to me during my [first season] at Chelsea, I think it would have gone better for me.”
