- 2 hours ago
Morata opens up on battle with depression and panic attacks
Jacque Talbot
- Updated: 10 Oct 2024 11:40 BST
- 5 min read
AC Milan attacker Alvaro Morata has bravely spoken out about his mental health battles.
The former Real Madrid man led Spain to the Euro 2024 title over the summer before making the move to AC Milan.
But before the competition began in Germany, Morata admitted that he struggled to even tie his own laces at one point.
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Speaking to El Partidazo, Morata said: "When you have really tough times, depression, panic attacks, it doesn't matter what job you do, what situation you have in life, you have another person inside that you have to fight against every day and every night. For me, leaving Spain was the best option; I couldn't stand it."
"I had a really bad time. I thought I wouldn't be able to put my boots on and go out on the pitch again. But hey, thanks to a lot of people, from Simeone, Koke, Miguel Angel Gil last year, my psychiatrist, my coach... we are what you see on TV and on social media but often it's not real.
"You have to give an image because it's your job. I had a really bad time, I exploded and there came a time when I couldn't lace up my boots, and when I did I would run home because my throat would close up and my vision would start to blur.
Morata on his mental battles
Morata then spoke about the build-up before the Euros, saying that he did not know if he would be able to play another match ever again.
"Three months before the Euros I was wondering if I would be able to play another match. I didn't know what was happening to me but it's very complicated and delicate. At that moment you realise that what you like most in the world is what you hate the most, it's complicated.
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"Every time I went out with them I always had some episode, sometimes without malice, with people about something that had happened in previous games. And, in the end, they didn't want to go shopping either, things that a normal father does with his children.
"There came a time when they said so many things to me in front of them that I was embarrassed to be with them. I was an easy joke, a joke to make the person next to you laugh."
