Bizarre though it may seem, footballers are often seen as immune to the things that ordinary members of the public have to go through each and every day.
That somehow their status and wealth should automatically make them happier, but nothing could be further from the truth of course.
Thanks to Prince William, who is the driving force behind a new #HeadsUp mental health campaign, more and more people, particularly young men – with footballers falling into that bracket – are beginning to open up on their own struggles.
It’s a conversation that needs to be had, and Liverpool’s Andy Robertson shed some light on his experience.
“When I started making it professional, I think that’s when I struggled the most,” the 26-year-old said, in quotes published by the Daily Star.
“I think only since probably the last year or two, since we’ve had kids and then I’ve started to open up more.
“I used to be one that blocked everything up, I thought ‘my problems are my problems’.
“I think mentally it has been a lot easier because I have opened up a lot better and [that’s] something I wish I had done earlier.”
Reds manager, Jurgen Klopp, a figure almost universally revered for the way in which he’s turned the Anfield outfit into World, European and Premier League champions, also had a view on the importance of speaking about problems that often leave people riven with internal strife.
“There were moments in the lockdown when we thought it is a proper setback from all of our dreams,” the German noted, in quotes published by the Daily Star.
“So it was a setback but it was a setback for all of us together, and we could calm each other down.
“[It] helps if you don’t feel all the burden on your own shoulders. If you have a group of friends or a group of colleagues and you can create an atmosphere like this, that helps.
“I think there is no problem big enough or small enough that you cannot talk about it.”
It’s good to see two such high-profile people happy to come forward and open up, and we can only hope that this has a positive effect on those who, thus far, have preferred to keep their struggles to themselves.