Spain striker Alvaro Morata has revealed he considered quitting the national team after suffering “depression” and “panic attacks” ahead of their European Championship triumph in the summer.
Morata, 31, captained his country to victory in the German tournament and moved from Atletico Madrid to AC Milan.
Morata, who is in the Spain squad for Nations League matches against Denmark and Serbia during this international break, has previously spoken about his difficult relationship with fans and how criticism has affected him and his family.
“When you’re going through a really difficult moment, depression, panic attack, it doesn’t matter what job you do, what you do, what your situation is in life,” Morata told Cope radio on Thursday.
“There’s another person inside you, and you have to fight with them every night. For me, it was best to leave Spain. The moment came when I couldn’t bear it.”
“You have to think about whether it’s really worth it,” Morata said in a speech before the Euros, saying he was considering not only retiring from the national team but also moving abroad.
On Thursday he added to those comments: “I was going through a really difficult time. There came a point where I thought I would never be able to put on a pair of football boots again. Three months before the Euros I was thinking about what I would do. Would I ever be able to wear a Spain shirt again and be captain? I was doing it.
“I don’t know what’s happening to me. I was embarrassed to be with my kids, to go out on the streets. Every time I went out with my kids, people would ask about football, talk about something. It happened in previous games too.
“Eventually (my kids) didn’t want to go to the supermarket either. People talked to me so much that I was embarrassed to be around them.”
During the Euros, Morata took to social media to suggest he would remain at Atletico. “I can’t imagine what it would be like to win (a trophy) with this shirt and I won’t stop until I achieve it,” he said on social media, but later joined Milan and scored twice. 5 Serie A games this season.
“At first I thought I would stay at Atletico, I really wanted to,” he told Cope. “But when I interviewed him, he said he didn’t know whether to stay in the national team or not, so there was a big uproar… and there were articles that I thought were too extreme.
“I realized that doesn’t happen in Italy. I’ve played for two teams there, but people there respect me. When you get a certain label (here), it’s hard to get rid of it.”
