Brazil star Richarlison has revealed that he was on the verge of ‘giving up’ after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and that he google searched about death as well. 

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Brazil was knocked out of the tournament and Richarlison, who was already battling mental health conditions, had his situation exacerbated. 

“I’d just played in a World Cup, man, at my peak. I was reaching my limit, you know? I don’t know, I’m not going to talk about killing myself, but I was in a depression there, and I wanted to give up,” Richarlison was quoted as saying by ESPN Brasil.

“Even I, who seemed to be mentally strong. After the World Cup it seemed like it all fell apart. I think the therapist, like it or not, saved me, saved my life. I only thought rubbish. Even on Google, I only searched for rubbish, I only wanted to see rubbish about death,” added the Tottenham Hotspur player. 

The Brazilian finished the World Cup with three goals in four games as the 2002 champions exited the tournament at the quarterfinal stage following a penalty shootout defeat against Croatia. 

Richarlison said losing the tournament was “worse than losing a family member” and described the huge pressure of wearing Brazil’s No. 9 jersey.

“It’s kind of sad to talk like that, you know? What I went through after the World Cup, discovering things here at home from people who had lived with me for over seven years….it is crazy,” he said. 

“To go to my father, who was the guy who chased my dream with me, and say, ‘Dad, I want to give up,’ is crazy.” 

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Therapy saved my life, says Brazil star 

The Tottenham forward said therapy saved his life and that Brazil national team now had a psychologist to help his teammates with their mental health problems. 

“As a national team player who has such an active voice, I want to tell people to seek help and I can particularly say that, because it saved my life like that.”

Last year, Richarlison took a sabbatical from club football to work on his mental health and returned a rejuvenated man. He had only scored four goals in 40 games for Spurs after joining from Everton in 2022.

However, since returning to action in December last year, Richarlison has scored nine goals in his last 13 appearances. He was even recalled to the Brazil squad for the just-concluded friendlies against England and Spain. 

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