The mental health burden at the highest level of football

Top footballers are in need of psychological help and counselling more than ever.

In the same week, Premier League stars Harry Maguire and Richarlison have both spoken about their struggles with mental health. The two players haven’t been at their best level on a football pitch and constant criticism and derision and abuse is starting to get out of hand.

Former Manchester United captain Maguire has been a constant media target. Ever since his £80 million move from Leicester City to Manchester United in 2019, which made him the then most expensive defender in the world, the 30-year-old has failed to live up to the potential that he had once shown at his former clubs.

He was not only under the limelight following his blockbuster transfer but was also given the captain’s armband by manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer a year later. The pressure proved to be too much and the ground almost caved underneath him.

Maguire’s form was horrendous during this period and he used to make frequent blunders. The entire team underperformed as well but the England defender was an easy target. And the abuse poured in from passionate fans left, right, and centre. Trolls on social media got incessant, and the entire situation hit rock bottom when a fan called him to alert a fake bomb threat at his home when his family was present.

Although both the player and the club have wanted to part ways with each other for over two summers now, his contractual agreements have made it hard to find a suitor. New manager Erik ten Hag has stripped him of captaincy and Maguire has taken up a bench role and rarely gets game-time.

That being said, though, he is still under the good books of England manager Gareth Southgate and also received and England call-up for the most recent international break, leading to a backlash from the fans once again.

At this level of the sport, there’s no doubt that players need to develop a really thick skin to deal with these issues. Fans have been persistently asking for Maguire to be dropped from the England team and he was also abused and made fun of by Scottish fans during England’s 3-1 victory at the Hampden Park after scoring an own goal for the hosts.

Reflecting on it, Maguire said, “I would not say I am a person who struggles with pressure mentally”.

“I have been through a lot in the last couple of years and I have been Manchester United captain for nearly four years,” he was quoted as saying by the Mirror.

“You take a huge lot of responsibility and everything that comes with it – and that is a lot of bad as well as good. (At Hampden Park) they piled pressure on myself. I would not say I am used to it but I can deal with it.”

“I am disappointed with the own goal but that is football. You are a centre-back and you put yourselves in those positions. I am really pleased with how I performed in the second half and how I dealt with it.”

Maguire is not the only United player to have had his fair share of difficulties with mental health lately. Teammate Jadon Sancho took an extensive break last year to deal with physical and mental issues. In fact, conflict emerged between him and manager Ten Hag when the latter went public with this information even though he wasn’t cleared by the player and his consortium.

Sancho has also fired back at the Dutch coach after claims that he hasn’t been active in training recently.

Dele Alli, who went from one of the most coveted talents in the world to playing in Turkey, had also recently spoke to Gary Neville on how he has been rehabilitating and has been taking psychological help. An extremely difficult childhood followed by a sudden rise to fame took a heavy toll on Alli’s mental well being which directly and indirectly affected his football.

Richarlison has also not managed to kick on after moving from Everton to Tottenham Hotspur. After serving international duty with Brazil this week, the forward said, “I’m going to return to England and seek psychological help, from a psychologist, to work on my mind. That’s it, to come back stronger.”

In this generation, the importance of prioritising mental health and well being is more important than ever. As one of the most followed sports in the world, football affords its biggest players a level of fame, attraction, and celebrity that is rarely found in other domains.

But it also comes at a certain cost - these players are always under the public eye and anytime they slip or falter, as humans obviously do, they become easy targets. Not everyone is equipped with the mentality to deal with frequent abuse as well as the ups and downs that are common in the world of football.

The onus on seeking psychological help and approaching it with the intent to understand is clearly becoming extremely necessary.