‘I was a Premier League winner but I didn’t want to leave the house’

When Luke Chadwick won the Premier League with Manchester United, he rose to the occasion thanks to his anxiety and depression.

He was subjected to bullying and abuse as a young player, which occasionally made him reluctant to leave the house.

It should have been the best time of my life, he says, but for a while I didn’t want to go shopping or dining with my friends. I just wanted to stay at home because I was so embarrassed that people would criticize how I looked.

The Cambridge-born player, 44, has an autobiography titled Not Just a Pretty Face, which details his professional successes and downfalls.

His career had already begun when United scouted him at the age of 14.

Manager Sir Alex Ferguson contacted his mother to ask him to sign a phone call following a successful trial.

After two years in the academy, Chadwick made his senior debut at the age of 18 in Meldreth, Cambridgeshire.

Chadwick admits to playing football “naively,” assuming that his style was important, but soon found himself being abused and ridiculed for his appearance.

On the pitch itself, there was no issue. He claims that playing football was the only thing that kept me from thinking about anything else.

BBC Action Line has a list of UK organizations that can assist and provide information on some of the topics covered in this story.

Chadwick claims that he did not possess the “emotional intelligence” necessary to handle it as a young player.

When, in reality, our vulnerability is our greatest strength, he says, “my thoughts were weak; I can’t show any signs of weakness.”

I kept it so secretly inside and probably felt helpless in some ways because I simply didn’t know how to deal with it, really, and was unable to tell anyone about it.

I was able to rebuild my confidence and live a really happy life until I left Manchester United, and the spotlight wasn’t on you as much.

Despite the medals he won there, the attacking midfielder struggled to become a regular starter while playing for Old Trafford, making 38 appearances and scoring twice.

He claims that the abuse I endured prevented me from having a glittering career at Manchester United.

It was because I struggled with a few injuries and was never able to play at the highest level.

In 2004, he joined West Ham before leaving United. Later, he would make 246 appearances for the MK Dons before switching to clubs like Stoke, Burnley, and Norwich City.

Chadwick currently works for a business that introduces children to fun football games and encourages them to play.

He also serves as a coach for young professional footballers in both the men’s and women’s teams.

He claims that social media has facilitated “absolutely disgusting” abuse of players, as well as bringing players and fans closer together.

You do believe that more needs to be done, he says, in order to stop that from happening on social media.

And he says that despite its difficulties, he feels blessed to have played at such a high level.