England defender Danny Rose has told BBC One documentary A Royal Team Talk: Tackling Mental Health how a club trying to buy him last summer wanted to make sure he was not “crazy”.
The Tottenham left-back opened up about his struggles with depression in the build up to the 2018 World Cup, an illness which was triggered by a significant knee injury and the death of a close family member.
In the wake of his revelation, a club interested in signing him insisted they wanted to meet him to check on his mental state.
The potential move fell through, but Rose, who is still angry at the situation, says the unnamed club in question have scuppered any chance of signing him in the future.
He said: “I think there’s still a long way to go in football because in the summer I was speaking to another club, and they said, ‘The club would like to meet you, just to check that you’re not crazy’. Because of what I’d said and what I’d been through.
“I was embarrassed, as whatever I’ve been through I like to think it doesn’t affect me doing my job. I still know I’ll always give a hundred per cent.
“In the end they didn’t put a bid in, but to think that people assume I might be crazy is embarrassing and I’m still angry about it to this day.
“If that opportunity came around again I’d definitely say no now.”
The 28-year-old discussed the issue with Football Association president Prince William for the documentary, which airs on Sunday at 10.30pm.
It forms part of the Mental Health Awareness Week and Rose and other footballers such as Peter Crouch, Thierry Henry and Gareth Southgate use the documentary to highlight the importance of talking about men’s mental health.
Rose, who has also spoken out strongly on racism, featured five times for the Three Lions on their way to the semi-final of the World Cup.
After being made available to leave Spurs, Rose won over Mauricio Pochettino and became his first-choice left-back as the club earned a fourth successive top-four finish in the Premier League and booked a spot in the Champions League final against Liverpool.
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