Andres Iniesta has described his struggle with depression while playing for Barcelona, which his mother says was a "bottomless pit" that caused her 25-year-old son to ask to sleep with his parents.
Iniesta recalls his experience with the illness in a Rakuten TV documentary, 'Andres Iniesta - The Unexpected Hero', which was released on Thursday and covers his move to Japanese side Vissel Kobe in 2018.
After winning the Champions League under Pep Guardiola in 2009, Iniesta was battling injury and then hit by the death of his friend Dani Jarque, the 26-year-old Espanyol defender who suffered a heart attack.
"The days pass and you realise you're not improving, you don't feel good, you're not yourself. Everything clouds over and goes dark," Iniesta said.
On Jarque's death, Iniesta added: "That was like a body blow, something powerful that knocked me down again and I was pretty low, clearly because I wasn't very well."
"I remember he said, 'the most important thing now is Andres, the person not the player'."
"They have to know we are there for them."