Thierry Henry fights back tears as Arsenal legend reveals depression battle, ‘crying every day’ and traumatic childhood
THIERRY HENRY fought back tears as he opened up over his battle with depression and traumatic childhood.
The Arsenal legend also revealed he cried “every day” in an emotional interview.
Henry, 46, won two Premier League titles and two FA Cups during an incredible 226 goal spell at Highbury.
He went on to enjoy league and European success at Barcelona.
And Henry now manages France’s Under-21s after stints with Monaco, Montreal Impact and Belgium.
But speaking to Steven Bartlett on the Diary of a CEO podcast, Henry lifted the lid on his secret battle with depression.
The World Cup winner with France revealed: “Throughout my career, I must have been in depression.
“Did I know it? No. Did I do something about it? Obviously no. But I had adapted in a certain way.
“I was lying for a very long time because society wasn’t ready to hear what I had to say.”
Henry also revealed he cried every day during the Covid lockdown while being away from his family as he managed Canadian side Montreal.
He continued: “Everything came at once, especially during the Covid time.
“I knew it before but I was lying to myself. I was making sure those feelings weren’t going too far, I put the ‘cape’ on. But when you’re not a player anymore, you can’t put that ‘cape’ on anymore.
“We tend to run instead of facing our problems, that is what we do all the time. We try to stay busy, we try to avoid the problem or not think about it.
“Covid happened and I asked ‘why are you running, what are you doing?’ I was isolated and not being able to see my kids for a year was tough. I don’t even need to explain that one.
“Something like that had to happen to me to understand vulnerability, empathy, crying. Understand that emotions are emotions. Anger is normal but don’t become angry. Jealousy is normal but don’t become jealous.
“I was crying almost every day for no reason, tears were coming. I don’t know why but maybe they were waiting for a very long time.
“I don’t know whether that needed to come out. It was weird, but in a good way. There was stuff I couldn’t control and I didn’t try to.
YOU'RE NOT ALONE
EVERY 90 minutes in the UK a life is lost to suicide
It doesn’t discriminate, touching the lives of people in every corner of society – from the homeless and unemployed to builders and doctors, reality stars and footballers.
It’s the biggest killer of people under the age of 35, more deadly than cancer and car crashes.
And men are three times more likely to take their own life than women.
Yet it’s rarely spoken of, a taboo that threatens to continue its deadly rampage unless we all stop and take notice, now.
That is why The Sun launched the You’re Not Alone campaign.
The aim is that by sharing practical advice, raising awareness and breaking down the barriers people face when talking about their mental health, we can all do our bit to help save lives.
Let’s all vow to ask for help when we need it, and listen out for others… You’re Not Alone.
If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support:
- CALM, www.thecalmzone.net, 0800 585 858
- Heads Together,www.headstogether.org.uk
- HUMEN www.wearehumen.org
- Mind, www.mind.org.uk, 0300 123 3393
- Papyrus, www.papyrus-uk.org, 0800 068 41 41
- Samaritans,www.samaritans.org, 116 123
“You have been told since you’re young, whether at home or in your job, ‘don’t be that guy, don’t show you’re vulnerable. If you cry, what are they going to think?’
“I was crying but, technically, it was the young Thierry crying. He was crying for everything he didn’t get.”
Henry opened up too on the pressure he felt while playing a youngster in front of his dad.
Henry added: “I left my house when I was 13, people don’t realise that. You’re already dealing with the pressure of succeeding.
“I was 15 and you can already see if someone is good or not good. We won 6-0 and I scored six goals.
“I knew the aura of my dad, I could tell if the man was happy or not.
“I turned around, I can tell you from any posture whether he was happy or not happy. We arrived in the car, there is silence. I am like, shall I talk or not talk? That was how we were.
“He said: ‘Are you happy?’ Should I answer? ‘Yeah’. ‘Yeah but you shouldn’t be because you missed that goal, missed that cross, whatever.’
“We arrived at my mum’s house, I’m walking like this [head down] and she asked: ‘Did you lose?’ It was often like that.”
ARSENAL NEWS LIVE: Stay up to date with all the latest transfer news from the Emirates