In a recent interview with ESPN Brazil, Brazil and Tottenham forward Richarlison de Andrade disclosed that in 2023, on the heels of Brazil’s elimination at the World Cup quarterfinals, he very nearly ended his football career, and his life. “I’d just played in a World Cup, man, at my peak… but I was in a depression there, and I wanted to give up,” he said in Portuguese, through tears.
The Richarlison in this interview is in stark contrast to the Richarlison fans have seen on the field. Fans are accustomed to his devotion to the game, creativity, and tremendous athleticism. (His scissor kick goal in the 73rd minute of Brazil’s World Cup opener has been analyzed, dissected, and diagrammed by football enthusiasts the world over.)
On air with ESPN Brazil, Richarlison’s shoulders are hunched inward, his leg’s shaking, and his eyes are red and watery; it’s clear how difficult it is to revisit this dark time in his life and let the public see this vulnerable side of him. He goes on to say that in the months following the World Cup, he wanted to “give up;” he struggled to leave his room to attend training and games. Fans watched as his performance on the pitch suffered. He further recalls an international friendly against Bolivia in September 2023 during which he was benched in the 63rd minute and excited visibly in tears. It was only a few days later that he announced he would seek psychological help.
“Most athletes are focused so much on winning that they lose mental bandwidth to focus on the aspects of their mindset that would actually lead to better performance,” says sport psychologist and Co-Founder of Union Square Practice and SportStrata, Dr. Jonathan Fader. “Athletes train very intensively physically, but most athletes lack sufficient mental training.”
Fader recommends athletes have a “robust mental performance routine” that allows them to anticipate stress and effectively metabolize that stress. a process — ability to build up their mental filter, to anticipate stress and know what skills and processes that they will rely on to effectively metabolize that stress. This might involve self messaging, physiological activation and regulation, and other skills that help athletes to “reset” in the face of adversity.
The work Richarlison has done in therapy over the last six-months seems to have had a profound impact, both on and off the pitch. He recently enjoyed the greatest spell of his career, scoring nine goals in eight Premier League games between December 2023 and February 2024.
Fader emphasizes a fundamental paradox in sport psychology– that taking the pressure off winning, can lead to better results. In particular, he warns against athletes shaping their entire self concept and self worth around their athletic results and ability.
“We help people to differentiate their athletic ability and results from who they are and how they value themselves as human beings,” he says. “An athlete who defines himself as a sibling, parent, friend, creative person in addition to being an athlete is going to do much better with regard to negative results.”
Richarlison is now urging other professional athletes to speak out about their own mental health struggles. Indeed, numerous studies have found that social stigma surrounding depression, among athletes especially, may lead to under-reporting and a lack of prioritization of this issue.
“For the most part, it’s been forbidden to show vulnerability as an athlete as that has real and implied consequences for how people will respond both on and off the field to them,” says Fader. “It’s only recently with athletes having the courage– like Kevin Love and Simone Biles– to talk about mental health and mental performance issues that there’s been a leap taken.”
If you’re interested in learning more about sport psychology and/or performance coaching, check out SportStrata.