‘Like your feet don’t work’: Bellingham tells footballers to ditch ‘macho image’

JUDE BELLINGHAM has opened up on the mental turmoil that top footballers go through, claiming there are times when you feel “like your feet don’t work, your body doesn’t work”.

The Real Madrid Galactico – who has been left out of Thomas Tuchel’s England squad this month – has called for greater openness and empathy in professional football.

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In a candid interview with Laureus, the Champions League-winning midfielder opened up on his own mental health and the negativity of social media, and rallied for more athletes to take responsibility as role models.

Bellingham, 22, said: “Athletes are seen as people who should shut up and take it, which is an old-fashioned outlook.

“The love a sportsperson receives is outstanding. But for every person, or people, who loves you there are others who despise you for the team you play for, or something you’ve done.

“That hate can be really tough for athletes – and I can really empathise with those who struggle with their mental health.

“Everyone is allowed their opinion on sport but there should be limits to the horrible things you can say.

“I’m not sure how you can limit that on social media apps but I think the support network around athletes are important.

“At Madrid, I’ve got a really good support system in terms of coaches, players and members of staff that I could ever speak to if I felt down.

“Going forward, I think it’s important that mental training is available in the game.

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“I’ve never been in a deep hole mentally but I’ve been around people who have, and it’s sad to see.

“I’d rather be the kind of teammate that someone can come and talk to about their mental health issues.

“The main thing is confidence – when you have it, you feel like you can ride it forever.

“But when you don’t have it, you can feel lower than low – like your feet don’t work, your body doesn’t work.

“I’m sure there’s ways you can try to regain your confidence, but essentially you get it from performance, so it’s almost a paradox.

“I always try to keep my confidence high, whether it’s through self-reassurance, or accepting the fact that I won’t complete every pass, I won’t beat every player or score and win every game.

“The more comfortable you are with that then the more comfortable you are with knowing you’re not perfect.”

Bellingham – who joined Madrid in June 2023 from Borussia Dortmund for £88.5million – admits he used to type his name into Twitter (now known as X) and read all the comments, good and bad, when he played for Birmingham.

That is something he has stopped doing now, deciding: “Why should I let the opinion of people who don’t know me validate how I think about myself?”

Speaking as a Laureus ambassador, Bellingham – winner of 44 England caps – added: “There are aspects of social media that are so valuable to an athlete.

“When you can be honest and authentic to fans it gives a great insight into how you felt about a game, or your day-to-day life. It helps you to become more relatable.

“But, as I discovered as a young player, there’s also the negative element that I’ve now decided to avoid – and I know a lot of other athletes who also have.

“There’s enough negativity and pressure in professional sport that you don’t need to seek it out.

“Now, when I do read negative comments, it doesn’t affect me – but I’d still rather not see them.

“With the development of social media and technology, there’s more ways to attack someone, to make them feel down – and I think there’s still a stigma around talking about mental health.

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“I know there have been times where I’ve felt vulnerable, doubted myself and needed someone to talk to – and, instead, I’ve tried to keep up this macho athlete image of, ‘I don’t need anyone’.

“The truth is that I do – everyone does. And you’ll feel a lot better from talking about your feelings and emotions.

“As athletes, it seems like we have the world at our feet or hands – we can do whatever we want, earn so much money and never be affected by it.

“But the reality is if we can show vulnerability, then it opens up a bigger conversation for people who are struggling in the darkness.

“It’s the duty of people like me – and the positions we’re in – to be role models.”

+ Visit www.laureus.com to learn more about the work Laureus is doing to support mental health, social inclusion, and youth empowerment through sport in over 50 countries.