‘With the way it’s going now…’ – Dutch icon backs Real Madrid forward to win Ballon d’Or next year

The world of football is fascinating to follow as a fan and a faithful of the game, but it concurrently looks to be an ideal world where players are paid enormous sums to do what they love most – play the beautiful game.

Yet, not many see the reality behind the scenes which is far from as pretty as one would imagine.

The mental pressure of playing week in and week out, physically pushing one’s body to the limit and putting up with the massive expectations from fans across the world with no room for error, needless to say, leaves players in a very difficult spot.

Varane opens up 

Speaking in a recent interview (h/t Mundo Deportivo), former Real Madrid star Raphael Varane revealed the psychological downfall he suffered after he arrived at the Santiago Bernabeu and how it deeply affected him.

“After arriving at Real Madrid I had the first problems. I was 18 years old and had not had a normal adolescence. I was alone, training all the time and barely playing. I felt that my dream was fading,” he began.

“In the field, I was totally focused. But then, I didn’t want to go home. It was a depression. I didn’t enjoy anything anymore,” he added.

He then revealed how he thought depression was the price one paid to succeed in the football world, saying,

“For me, that was the price to pay. I thought you had to go through that to succeed. I was starting my career and I asked myself a thousand questions: ‘Did I make the right decision by coming here? Should I go? Should I talk about it?’.”

“I was trapped in a kind of loneliness, feeling that everything was falling apart,” he added.

Varane won it all at Real Madrid. (Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images)

Varane then surprisingly opened up on how winning the FIFA World Cup with France in 2018 worsened his situation,

“The period after the 2018 World Cup was very difficult. You achieve your dream, you are at the top of world football, and then comes the downturn.”

“I remember that the pandemic helped me get out of that depressive state. I was able to process all those emotions and restart myself. It’s paradoxical, because that period was very hard for many people in terms of mental health,” he added.

Varane then blamed the hectic football calendar to be one primary reasons for the psychological struggles he experienced.

“The calendar is a big problem. I understand that it is a business, but we are losing quality as a show. Either you don’t play 100%, or you play like a robot.”

“There are more physical injuries and, obviously, the impact on the mental health of the players is significant. It was one of the reasons for my withdrawal,” he added.

“The calendar was crazy. I didn’t have any rest that allowed me to recover physically or psychologically,” he concluded on that topic.

Finally, the former defender spoke on how the football world is not as rosy as it appears from the outside, saying,

“Football is a bit like society, with a kind of runaway rush. You always have to do more, always faster. We need a break. Not because we don’t want to play, but to play better.”

“The idea is not to run away from the competition, but to be mentally in the right place, because if you continue to exceed the limits, sooner or later something will break,” he concluded.