THE DARK SIDE OF FOOTBALL

Every sport has its legends, icons and a dark side that people don’t know. Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan are famous basket players, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic are tennis legends. Soccer has its own icons too,  like Cristiano Ronaldo or Leo Messi, but all of these sports have a hidden side that are not as popular as their bright side. We think that the life of a football player is easy: stellar salaries, Ferraris, big houses and expensive holidays and many of us think that they are heroes or aliens.

But if we read something about the football players life  we can understand that it isn’t as easy as it seems. They are normal people, they feel the same feelings, happiness, sadness, anger and shame! Yes, shame. 

For example,  Cristiano Ronaldo wanted to demolish the house where he grew up because he ashamed of his past.

How did their careers start? When they were children they played football for their city’s football team and, little by little, they climbed the ladder and reached their goals. 

Footballers are forced to expose themselves to a life  which is also hard and filled with sacrifices,  especially when they are young and immature.

In the world of soccer there is also depression. For instance, Frantisek Rajtoral committed suicide and Clarke Carlisle disappeared for his mental problems.

Young people are physically and psychologically fragile.  Injuries can mess up the career of a promising young footballer.

 Depression has concequences on the performances of the players and if fans criticize them, this doesn’t help. All the pressure on them and their constant being under the spotlight doesn’t help their mental health. 

Another danger is money. Players earn lots of money every year. For example,  Kyliane Mbappé, 19 y.o., is a French footballer who plays in Paris Saint Germain and he earns about twenty million every year. But some famous players ruined their lives  because they squandered all the money they had earned. Sulley Muntari, ex player of Milan football club, couldn,t buy a car because he didn’t have enough money.

So football stars’  lives can seem a dream, but there are also many problems to face up and sometimes you have to do it ALONE. Players aren’t heroes, they are only humans, like us.

David