Ex-Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick has opened up about the depression he suffered after their Champions League final defeat to Barcelona in 2009.
United lost 2-0 to Barcelona in Rome nine years ago, with Samuel Eto’o and Lionel Messi scoring the decisive goals against Sir Alex Ferguson’s side. A loose header from Carrick gifted Barcelona the ball in the build-up to their opener, and he admits his depression “snowballed” from replaying that moment in his mind.
“It was the biggest low of my career by quite some way and I don’t really know why. I thought I’d let myself down in the biggest game of my career. I had won the Champions League the year before, but that was totally irrelevant. It felt like I was depressed. I was really down. I imagine that is what depression is. I describe it as depression because it wasn’t a one-off thing. I felt bad or terrible after some games, but then you get over it in the next couple of days, but that one I just couldn’t shrug off. It was a strange feeling,” he said speaking to The Times.
“I beat myself up over that [Eto’o] goal. I kept asking myself, ‘Why did I do that?’, and then it [the depression] snowballed from there. It was a tough year after that. It lingered for a long time.”
The 37-year-old, who played for United for 12 years, said the depression did not subside until after their Champions League quarter-final win over Chelsea in 2011.