“I couldn’t come to terms with that” – Player explained major issue from Tottenham spell

Toby Alderweireld is one of those former footballers who wants everyone to know he never really enjoyed being a footballer.

The Tottenham fan-favourite has often spoke candidly about the toll being a footballer had on him personally. In fact, it’s a topic he visits regularly back in his native Belgium.

For instance, back in June he detailed how he was forced to choose between the birth of his children or playing for Tottenham. That led to an insane sequence of travelling in planes, trains and automobiles just to get back to Spurs.

It wasn’t the first time he had told such a story either. Back in February, he explained how the situations around the birth of his children had left him hating the fact that he was a footballer.

Miserable experience

And it appears that he’s not done ramming home the point just yet either. This week has seen him speaking openly on Therapie, a programme on VRT Canvas.

In that programme, he revealed that he sought help from a psychologist during his career. He also admitted that his time at Tottenham was not particularly easy for him.

“I found myself missing home terribly,” he said.

“I’d spend three or four days a week in a hotel. I was also with the national team, which meant I was regularly away for ten days at a time—and even longer during major tournaments.

“When it was just the two of us, I could handle it. But with children, it became harder. I had to leave just a day after becoming a father for the second time. Mentally, I couldn’t come to terms with that.”

Belgium problem

Leaving Tottenham did not help with the issue either.

First, he went to Al-Duhail, before then returning to Belgium with Royal Antwerp in 2022.

He spent the next three years at the club but ultimately had to abandon the national team to get what he had been missing back.

“One solution would be a less hectic schedule,” he added.

“That’s when I decided to step away from the national team. I had played in three World Cups and two European Championships; it was time to leave that chapter behind. A few months later, we won the championship with Antwerp.”