Benjamin Pavard recalls the difficult period of the health crisis during which he was isolated far from his family and loved ones.
MENTAL HEALTH – Even champions can experience depression. The defender of Bayern Munich and the France team Benjamin Pavard is well placed to talk about it: the Covid crisis has, as was the case for many people at the time, impacted his mental health. Isolated far from home and from his loved ones, the 26-year-old footballer said that he had a hard time during this period, during an interview with the parisianPosted this Sunday, September 25.
“It was difficult for everyone, for me too. Finding myself alone, in a country that wasn’t my own, really wasn’t right. in my head it was wrongYes, says the former Losc player. At first you tell yourself that it’s nothing, that it will happen, but when you see that it persists, that you’re going to train and that you don’t have the banana, you have to react. »
A bad pass that persisted for several months, impacting his football performance. “I’m human like everyone else, and even though I have a super nice house with a weight room, I needed contact with others. I got up, I had no appetite. I tried to stay busy, cook, watch series. But Netflix is fine two minutes…”
“I don’t like the word depressing, but it was! »
Benjamin Pavard tries to put words to his problems, although it is not always easy. “I don’t like the word depressing, but it was! »He explains and adds that, if at the time he had to hide his discomfort in public, today he is much better.
To free himself from that shadow that weighs on his mind and body, the champion explains that he began to talk about it with his relatives in particular. “I came out of all this made a man, it changed me. He was alone like many footballers and he had to surround me well to raise his head. He brought me some difficult moments”.
He mentions in particular the death of his grandmother, for which he was unable to be present because on the eve of a Euro Under 19 match in Greece. “I suffered a lot from not talking about it… After all, she is my grandmother! She knows me since she was little. She is an important person in my life.”points out.
the parisian asked Azdine Bousnana, physiotherapist of Benjamin Pavard, who reassures about the player’s state of mind today: “The last 8-9 months have been a return to normal life to readjust and stick to the plans. Now Benjamin is on top. The period revealed some things, he had that strength. He refocused on himself and had great confidence in the team that was there to support him and make him more composed. »
VIDEO – “In my head, things were not right”: Benjamin Pavard confesses about the depression he went through
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