Nottingham Forest midfielder Jesse Lingard has opened up on his mental health struggles he endured over the past few years.
Lingard struggled during the latter part of his career at Manchester United, despite coming through the academy at the Old Trafford stadium club.
Lingard is now 29, and admits that he struggled with mental illness and that it led him to compensate by drinking too much alcohol.
“I was having conversations with people and I was just like: ‘Yeah. OK. Yeah,'” he told the Guardian.
“Nothing would register. It would go in one ear and out the other. I was numb and I wanted to be in that numb state where I didn’t have to feel anything.
“Literally, I just wanted to sit at home and drink a little bit – try and take the pain away. I don’t do that, normally.
“But sitting at home and drinking before bed … that’s when I knew I was in a bad situation. It wasn’t drinking to excess. It was just little bits through the week.”
