OM’s Spanish goalkeeper Pau Lopez said Thursday that he “needed a psychologist” to manage “moments when you don’t understand what’s going on in your head.”
“I needed a psychologist who helped me. There are times when you don’t understand what’s going on in your head and it’s good to have someone who explains to you, who gives you solutions,” declared the Marseille goalkeeper at a press conference. In October, Pau Lopez had already admitted to having gone through a period of psychological difficulties, without going into detail. “The month of August was complicated for me, mentally. I’ll talk about it at the end of the season. I needed more time for myself,” he said at the time.
On Thursday, he explained that he had not wanted to reveal these difficulties to his teammates, but that president Pablo Longoria and Argentine defender Leonardo Balerdi had realized them. “It’s my personality, I didn’t want to share that with others, I didn’t want anyone to be sad for me. Leo asked me two or three times what was going on. I told him Leo, everything is fine, but he knew. After I had an interview with the psychologist, he told me please, I’m here, you can share this with me,” said the Marseille goalkeeper.
“I am very happy to have passed this period, I know myself a lot more. You have to try to find solutions when something doesn’t work and I continue to talk with this psychologist, not just about football but about life,” he added. “It’s something that we can improve a lot in football. It’s not easy but if someone can show you the way, tell you how to deal with bad times…”, said Pau Lopez.
The Spaniard also explained that earning a lot of money was no guarantee of mental serenity. “People may think that because you earn a lot, that’s enough. But we are people, we have problems, at home, with the children, of confidence when you don’t play or poorly,” he said.
“Money is nothing. Of course it’s easy for me to say that. But in Rome, I earned double from Betis but I didn’t want to be there. Today I feel very good in what I do. I just want to be happy to go to training and happy with my family,” he concluded.
