Chelsea forward João Félix has admitted he doesn’t like people seeing him down as he continues to struggle at Stamford Bridge.
A Bola cover comments from the forward today in which he admits he struggles with people knowing he’s not happy.
It’s proving to be another difficult year for the 25-year-old, who joined Chelsea in a €52m deal from Atlético Madrid in the summer.
He had been hoping to kickstart his career with the Blues but has instead found himself playing a substitute role and largely playing in Europe under Enzo Maresca so far.
It means his name is never far from the headlines, with Maresca consistently asked about the Portuguese forward’s role in his plans by the media.
A total of 11 appearances worth 634 minutes certainly isn’t what he was expecting, especially given the money that Chelsea paid to sign him permanently from Atlético in the summer.
That’s something he struggles with, admitting he doesn’t like people seeing him down, or discussing that fact.
“I never felt that much pressure. If you’re going to do something that you know you’re good at, that you’re confident in, you don’t need to feel pressure,” he said.
“If you feel pressured, things will get worse. Another thing is anxiety. I’ve felt it more, nowadays I read it well and over time you’ll understand it,” he says.
“Many people don’t realise that a player, or people who are very exposed, have family, friends. We have feelings, emotions. Because they think we make a lot of money we have to deal with it, but we have a personal life and if we’re not making money something might be happening, something isn’t right.
“But we have to know how to deal with it, otherwise depression can set in, as some players have already gone public and admitted they had it, others perhaps never said it… I don’t like people seeing me down, I keep it to myself.”
