OMM Newsroom
Former Barcelona and France centre-back Jeremy Mathieu has spoken about life after ending his professional career. His comments were reported by So Foot.
Mathieu said things became difficult after he suffered a cruciate ligament injury at Sporting. He ended his career in 2020. The former footballer said he had to wear a knee brace and could not do much after the injury. He said he experienced depression and missed the pitch, the dressing room and the experiences he had as a footballer.
Mathieu said he had not had time to prepare for life after football because he thought he would play for another two years. He stressed that accepting the consequences of the injury was psychologically difficult. Mathieu had previously suffered a cruciate ligament injury at Toulouse and spent nine months out of action. The defender said that during that period he sometimes lost the motivation to go to training and simply wanted to play, before making the sudden decision to end his career.
Mathieu said he did not regret his decision. He said he was 36 and had enjoyed a good career. Although he wanted to keep playing, he was also thinking about spending more time with his family.
