Former Bristol City playmaker Lee Tomlin admitted he didn't think football could ever make him happy again before signing a one-year contract with Doncaster Rovers.
Tomlin, 33, agreed to a deal with the League Two side after impressing during a trial period throughout the summer. He was looking for a new club after being released from Walsall at the end of last season following a short-term contract.
The midfielder has spoken openly about his mental health battle in the past and earlier this year revealed how he feared slipping back to his "old self." Upon signing for Walsall, he spoke of his ambition to just "enjoy football again" but made just one start and four substitute appearances at the Saddlers after struggling with a groin injury.
Tomlin admitted signing from Doncaster was an easy choice after going through a period of hating football, suggesting the riches of being a professional footballer made no difference to the problems he has endured off the field.
Reported on Doncaster's official site, he said: "The manager and myself had a conversation and given how much I’m enjoying myself it felt like an easy decision to sign.
“Money doesn’t matter to me, I’ve had that and hated football but being here I’ve enjoyed it more than ever.
“If I’m being honest I didn’t think football could make me happy again, but I’ve not been this happy in a long time. I’ve seen the messages on social media and that’s great, I want to do well for the club, the manager, his staff, players and everyone involved.
“When you’re a free agent you have to take your ego out of it and get used to the situation you’re in, but I’ll be happy to see my name back on the team sheet.
“We have to be switched on and ready to go now, we have one pre-season game left and then it’s all systems go towards Bradford.”
Tomlin was the top earner at City when he joined BS3 permanently from Bournemouth in 2016 following a hugely successful loan spell. He then failed to replicate his form at Ashton Gate before being sold to Cardiff in the summer of 2017.
Tomlin was released by Cardiff in October following growing tension between him and former boss Mick McCarthy after a series of injury issues with his groin.
During his time in Wales, Tomlin struggled with consistency although did win the club's Player of the Year award following his stellar 2019/20 campaign. He then trained with non-league Wrexham and despite the eagerness to sign him permanently, the two parties failed to come to an agreement.
Tomlin would come back to haunt Lee Johnson by coming off the bench to provide the assist for Danny Ward's winner in July 2020, wasting little time in revelling over his success by immediately writing "What happened?" on Twitter. It was also Johnson's final game as City boss after he was sacked soon after the full-time whistle.
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