Barcelona legend Andres Iniesta has opened up on his battle with depression which left him feeling like he'd lost the 'will to live'.
Iniesta won nine La Liga titles during his 18 years in the senior team at the Nou Camp, as well as four Champions Leagues. The Spaniard is widely regarded as one of the best midfielders of all time, having starred in Pep Guardiola 's all-conquering team.
Despite that success on the outside, Iniesta did have struggles with his mental health. He has previously opened up on one particular moment in his career when he had to seek out help after going into depression.
That period came during the 2009/2010 season when he suffered a series of injuries that sidelined him for much of the campaign. And he has now revealed that he continues to go to therapy as he recovers from that battle.
"I didn't have that joy or energy that life has to be. I lost that will to live. You start to feel bad, they test you and you're fine but you say that something is not working and then you go away, you get into your body and into your mind," he told The Wild Project.
"You see everything black. That is to say I wanted the night to come so I could take my pills and go to bed. That was the moment of greatest pleasure. I lost the will to live. I hugged my wife, but it was like hugging a pillow.
"It's not being sad because you lost a game it's something else. That's why until you don't live it or feel it, you can't understand. If they don't live it, it's hard for the other person to understand it.
"I am still going to therapy, as I need to be at peace with myself. I like to listen to professionals talk about mental health and depression. Eventually, life teaches you that depression and mental health can affect anyone."
Iniesta insisted that success does not mean that people will be unaffected by mental health problems. And he was clear that his decision to open up on his battle was the right one, to encourage others to talk.
"I don't know if I live oblivious to that, but I try to understand that I am a public figure, a famous person, whatever you want to call it. But I try to live my life or express my life in the most natural way," he added.
"So for me, for example, it was a new situation that I experienced, very, very complicated and difficult. But at no time did I think they were going to cross me out in quotes as crazy or weak.
"I felt I had to explain it and sharing, I think that in the end sometimes listening to someone sharing things that someone has lived and you recognise that they are living them or hat you have lived them, well it helps a lot.
"I think it is very important that we understand it and even more so if it comes from someone famous. In theory you have all the money in the world, the best houses, the best cars. But it can happen to anyone, it is not about material things."
