Carrick Reveals Depression Woes

By Max Wise 

Manchester United's Assistant Manager, Michael Carrick, has revealed he suffered depression after a costly mistake in the 2009 Champions League final defeat to Barcelona.

Carrick gave the ball away leading to Barcelona’s opening goal in the 2-0 defeat in Rome.

Sir Alex Fergusson’s Red Devils had won the trophy the previous season after beating Chelsea on penalties, and a win at the Stadio Olimpico over Pep Guardiola’s side would have earned them a second straight triumph in Europe

"I beat myself up over that goal," Carrick told The Times. "I kept asking myself: 'Why did I do that? And then it [the depression] snowballed from there. It was a tough year after that. It lingered for a long time.

"I had won the Champions League the year before, but that was totally irrelevant. It felt like I was depressed. I was really down. I imagine that is what depression is.”

"I describe it as depression because it wasn't a one-off thing. I felt bad or terrible after some games, but then you get over it in the next couple of days, but that one I just couldn't shrug off. It was a strange feeling."

Carrick was part of the then England manager, Fabio Capello’s, 23-man squad to the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, but failed to make a single appearance at the tournament.

The former Tottenham Hotspurs midfielder has revealed he carried his depression to the Mundial and felt like returning to England at a point.

"It was my dream to be at the World Cup, but the truth is I didn't want to be there. I wanted to be at home," he continued.

Carrick joined the Red Devils from Spurs in the summer of 2006 for a reported £18.6m and made a total of 481 appearances, winning five premier league titles and the 2008 UEFA Champions League.