Thierry Henry is one of the best soccer players of all time, and many regard him as the best Arsenal player ever. The Frenchman has won every trophy there is to win in the sport, including the Champions League and the World Cup as well. He is remembered fondly as one of the greatest players to play in the Premier League as well.
One would think that with such a successful career, Henry would be one of the happiest men on the planet. But it is not the case, with the legendary Arsenal player revealing his troubles during his career.
Thierry Henry talks on childhood trauma
Thierry Henry is often seen making jokes and is often seen as a cool person on the pitch, once sharing a story about Lionel Messi. With his huge success and personality, no one would think he would be a depressed person, especially during the height of his career.
But the Frenchman recently opened up about his true feelings during Bartlett’s The Diary Of A CEO show, talking about the childhood trauma he faced at the beginning of his life. He revealed that he failed to live up to the expectations of his father during his early career. He said about his depression, “Technically, it wasn’t me, it was the young me. Crying for everything he didn’t get, approval.”
He spoke about his father and how he never gave him the appreciation he deserved. “He was very particular at times on how I was as a player. As a little boy it was always ‘you didn’t do that well’. So obviously when you hear that more often than not, that’s what’s going to stay.”
Henry even shared a related story about this, saying that during his teenage years, he once scored all the goals in a 6-0 victory. But instead of getting some praise from his father, he instead pointed out all the mistakes he had made in that match.
The French striker agreed that this behavior from his father helped him become the ideal athlete, but not an ideal human being. He agreed that his depression could be linked to this longing for approval from a young age, especially from his father.
Thierry Henry confesses being depressed throughout his career
Furthermore, he revealed that while it started in his childhood, it remained throughout his career, despite him winning every accolade and trophy in his career. He said that he was depressed all throughout his career, “Throughout my career, and since I was born, I must have been in depression.”
He revealed that he only realized he was depressed during the COVID epidemic. Since a young age, he has been depressed but has continued to live as if nothing happened. “I never stopped walking, then maybe I would have realised. But during Covid – I stopped walking. I couldn’t. Then you start to realise.”
After his soccer playing career was over in 2014, he took up coaching to try to continue his normal life. He admitted that during COVID, when he was isolated, he realized all those years of depression and cried a lot.
Thierry Henry is currently doing work as a pundit and is also the coach of the French U21 team. Hopefully, his depression days are far behind him.
