Bayern Munich defender Benjamin Pavard has opened up on how he experienced depression during the coronavirus lockdown.
The France international explained in an interview with newspaper Le Parisien that isolation became a heavy burden and he sorely missed normal social contact.
Pavard, now 26, was in his first season with Bayern when the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, having joined from Bundesliga rivals Stuttgart.
When players went into isolation in late March of 2020, Pavard said it became a challenge to stay positive.
He said: "It was difficult for everyone, for me too. To be alone, in a country other than mine, I was really not well. In my head, something was wrong.
"At the beginning, you tell yourself that it's nothing, that it will pass, but when you see that it persists, that you go to training and that you don't have a smile on your face, you have to react."
The Bundesliga became the first major league in Europe to resume, as it started up again in mid-May 2020, albeit behind closed doors.
Pavard sought and found support to help him through the trying times.
He said: "I am human like everyone else, and even if I have a super nice house with a weight room, I needed contact with others.
"I got up, I had no appetite. I tried to keep busy, to cook, to watch series. But Netflix is fine for two minutes… I don't like the word depressive, but that was the case."
The former Lille player explained that he turned a corner and now feels "much better".
"I came out of all this as a man, it changed me," he said. "I was on my own like many football players and I had to surround myself well to raise my head. I managed to bounce back from difficult times."
