By The professional footballer, born in Bilbao, spent 8 months away from the pitch to look after his mental health. We tell you about his experience!
Ibai Gómez has left professional football after announcing his departure from Deportivo de La Coruña, a team in the 1ª RFEF, the third tier of Spanish football. The last stage of a long journey that began with a period of depression that forced him to “give it all up”. This is the story of how depression changed his career forever.
First of all, it is worth highlighting a shocking fact. According to Fifpro , 38% of footballers suffer from depression. However, although the percentage is high, talking about depression in this area is a taboo subject, not only because it is also taboo in society at a general level, but also because these professionals are seen as privileged people.
These words from Morro García resonate now. According to @FIFPro , 38% of footballers suffer from depression or psychological problems (four out of ten). In society, the percentage varies between 13 and 17%. Depression is often a taboo subject. And in football, even more so. pic.twitter.com/2te5Pa1tXx
— Roberto Parrottino (@rparrottino) February 6, 2021
Ibai Gómez: a promising career
Raised in Santuxtu FC, his neighbourhood team, Ibai Gómez experienced an unexpected rise when he reached his last year of youth. “I had never been a starter. Until one day they put me in and in two years I was playing in the First Division,” he said in his farewell in A Coruña. Athletic, who did not hesitate to sign him, saw how a kid who had just turned 18 was kicking down the door to professional football .
After a few years in and out of the starting eleven, during which he participated in the Champions League and reached a Europa League final, Ibai went on loan to Deportivo Alavés in the summer of 2016. There he would live another of his great stages as a footballer, which culminated with qualification for a final of the Copa del Rey . The first participation in the history of the babazorro team.
In the winter of 2019, Athletic Club brought Ibai back. Upon his return, he received the warmth and affection of the fans, who gave him a resounding ovation at the San Mamés stadium in his debut against Sevilla. And it was the following season, in the midst of the pandemic, when everything went wrong. The lack of opportunities and his poor form caused Ibai to disconnect from the competition, leading to a practically blank year.
“I needed to leave everything behind”
Not only was Ibai not playing, but he was also looking further and further away from his best form. When his legs stopped responding, his head played tricks on him. Ibai Gómez fell into a deep state of depression that made him step away from football for a while . “In other economic circumstances, I probably wouldn’t have decided to stop. But I needed to get excited about everything again,” he explained in an interview with El Desmarque .
“I am aware that I am lucky to be able to stop. And, knowing all the difficulties that it would bring me to return, I know that I made the right decision,” he continues. The stress, the constant demands and the frenetic pace of work led Ibai into a spiral that ended up devouring him when he had a drop in his performance.
That pressure to return to the top of professional football was what pushed him to the limit. And, little by little, he sank into a cycle of stress that distanced him from his family and friends and made him more of a slave to football.
Return to the playing fields
After 8 months away from football due to depression , Ibai decides to return to the national team. He does so by taking advantage of the opportunity offered to him by Foolad FC, an Iranian team with which he signed a one-month contract in March 2022. He only played 6 games with this new team, but they were enough to return to Spain with the intention of taking on a project that would excite him and allow him to recover his best level.
That team was Deportivo de La Coruña , a club that, after several years of decline, ended up being relegated to the third tier of Spanish football, where it had not competed for more than 40 years. It seemed to be written in ancient stone that the paths of Ibai Gómez and Deportivo would cross at some point. Two greats in low times who decided to support each other to recover their past glory.
“I didn’t realize I was leaving my family behind. And family, you people, are the most important thing.”
Ibai Gomez.
“I want to show that I am capable of playing at this level. And I really want my children to see me play ,” the footballer explained when he signed for Deportivo on 27 July 2022.
But the future for both of them was far from what was expected . Four months after the transfer, Deportivo is unable to reach the top of the table, while Ibai has not managed to play two games in a row. It must not have been easy to accept, but Ibai Gómez was very clear: “ it is time to leave professional football .”
As complicated as it may be, my head and my heart tell me that it is time to tell you something… pic.twitter.com/0Rqb78NunT
— IBAI GOMEZ (@ibaigomez) November 8, 2022
“My heart and my head tell me that it is time to step aside. It is time to take a different path ,” Ibai explains in a video posted on his social media.
Back home
After thanking his fans, his family and his teammates for everything he has experienced as a footballer, Ibai says goodbye at the Deportivo press conference. He assures that, sooner or later, he will continue to dedicate himself to football from the bench, but not before returning to his neighbourhood team: Santutxu FC.
“My intention is to play these months in my neighbourhood club, where the coach who trained me is still there. And where my father is still the president.” And as if he were a classic hero, after a long journey full of successes and disappointments, Ibai Gómez returns to what was always his home .