Vincent Pericard confesses he ‘thought of suicide’ while playing in the Premier League
Now ex-Potters and Pompey ace offers emotional support to footballers suffering from depression and mental health issues
VINCENT PERICARD can describe the moment he hit rock bottom as a top-league footballer.
When depression struck, he did not want to train at Stoke. The Frenchman sat in his living room with the curtains drawn and nothing but dark thoughts.
By 29 he had retired from football and started to raise awareness about mental health issues in the game.
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Now he fears other players are suffering in silence as the money and pressure at the highest level increases.
Pericard said: “For me, it was a low place to be. Some people have suicidal tendencies. It did cross my mind but I would never act on it. I was fortunate. But I couldn’t carry on.
“At Stoke I was really struggling to settle in the area.
“I was transferred to a new team and a new set of fans and getting criticism because I wasn’t playing well.
“Going to training in the mornings was very challenging and the ripple effect was me not wanting to play. I was saying I was sick and not training.
“After training I would lock the door, close the windows and in the dark room think I was worthless and not going to make it.
“I was thinking the wrong things. It got so bad I went to the manager and said I needed a break and I couldn’t cope. I was in a vicious circle.”
Pericard’s route to Stoke came after spells at Italian giants Juventus then Portsmouth.
He is now back at Portsmouth University studying business management and entrepreneurship.
At 34 the former striker is still young and has set up the WhatsUp? wellbeing app, offering emotional support via phone.
Pericard believes cases in football will increase as the pressure mounts.
The recent revelations from Bangor University’s study into gambling addiction in football, highlighted by SunSport, came as no surprise to Pericard.
He said: “We have seen so many cases.
“In football everything comes very quickly — but it is also easy to take away.
“The problem is that some players are going through a tough patch, so you are on the surface of it but it goes deeper.
“They manage to hide it.
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“This is why it is important to provide the mechanism to show things that are hidden away.
“You can sometimes see from the way they engage with others that something isn’t right. I saw that a lot.
“Gambling, drinking, women. It happens a lot.
“Women and sex is another dark area and is a result of the same factors. It is to escape intense pressure.
“You are always under pressure to get a result.
“If you can imagine a football player in front of thousands of fans, everything is judged, and as we have a short career it is important to perform. There is frustration when it doesn’t happen or when you are injured.
“There is temptation, wrong people around, going out.
“Often families are counting on you. It is hard to deal with, especially when you are young. It is a heavy cost.”
Pericard fears it will get worse for players now, especially with the billions getting pumped into the game through TV money.
He added: “It is a trend that won’t stop tomorrow.
“The increase of money in football, clubs are getting more money, players are.
“If they get more money, but still not the right support, it will only carry on. The sooner they address it, the better.
“I would say it has improved. More players are coming out for support — and within football the FA is launching things to help.
“But there is still a long way to go in terms of a strategy. There is a need for education and providing what is needed to cope around it.
“It is one thing to do a campaign but if there are not the right channels, it’s done for nothing
“They could make counselling compulsory but that approach could be negative as it should not be forced on someone.
“This is one of the reasons to provide a new channel.”
With that kind of help, things could have been different for Pericard.