In an interview given to the Italian newspaper La Repubblicaformer AC Milan player Kevin-Prince Boateng spoke openly about his depression and more broadly about the psychological problems that professional footballers suffer from, without ever talking about it: “We have to educate, get into the heads of children. And protect the players. I don’t know one who doesn’t have mental problems. I went there for a month without going out, to read. I came home crying: my baby came and I couldn’t play with him, I was empty. Social media has become a weapon to destroy people. They didn’t exist yet, when in 2009 Hannover goalkeeper Robert Enke threw himself under a train due to depression. Imagine today. How did I get out of it? The trigger came after relegation with Hertha Berlin, the team of my childhood and my heart. I had to stop because physically I couldn’t take it anymore, I had to be honest”he then declared, not without hiding his emotion.
To find the path to happiness, the former Ghanaian international spoke about the importance of religion and his new life in Australia, far from Europe where the rise of racism and populism continues: “FIFA invited me to Sydney for the Women’s World Cup. I entered the church, I started to cry: I gave my life to Jesus, I baptized myself. This happened to me at 36, I have never been happier. I have never felt as good as I did in Sydney. In a few months I will leave Milan and Europe, which has become bad. I don’t always say it, but I certainly don’t find myself in Europe anymore. Hate and envy grow. In politics, racists try to govern, in Germany with the AFD. I see the country where I grew up voting for them and I want to leave. In Australia, I was asked to help grow football. What would I say to the one who insulted Maignan? That he needs Jesus. Nothing else. I would give him the Bible to read. Each of us grew up differently, with our own experiences. But in the Bible, everything is written, peace and love: racism has no meaning..
