Mental health support in football has come a long way – but the work must continue to help players have a first conversation which can “change everything”, according to former England winger Aaron Lennon.
Starting out at hometown club Leeds before joining Tottenham in 2005, Lennon also had spells at Everton, Burnley and in Turkey with Kayserispor before retiring in 2022 following the end of a second spell with the Clarets.
In May 2017, while he was at Everton, Lennon was detained under the Mental Health Act over concerns for his welfare. He was taken to hospital for assessment, going on to receive care and treatment for a stress-related illness.
Lennon, who will be making his debut for England at Soccer Aid for UNICEF 2025 on June 15 at Old Trafford, continues to talk openly about his own experiences and encourages others to seek help if ever needed.
“If I didn’t get sectioned, I probably wouldn’t be here…” 💔@AaronLennon12 bravely opens up about his personal battle with mental health. pic.twitter.com/Ov86rKxc7L
— The Overlap (@WeAreTheOverlap) October 28, 2024
“There is still a little bit of a stigma around it, but there is definitely more help,” Lennon told the PA news agency.
“People are more open – and it is not just football players, a lot more celebrities are speaking openly about it.
“But there is still work to be done. There needs to be more support for players, especially the younger lads, but there is definitely an improvement.
“Mental health affects everyone, and players are no different. There is so much pressure, they are in this spotlight and some of them don’t know who to turn to.
“It is still there, and you still see a lot of people who are suffering in silence. They don’t want to speak out.
“There is a little bit of a stigma around it, and these people coming out with comments about ‘man up’ or ‘you shouldn’t worry about that’… but until you actually go through it, then you can never put yourself in somebody’s shoes. So there is a lot to be done, but it is improving.”
Lennon, who was capped 21 times by England, knows from his own experiences that mental health struggles can impact anyone – no matter their status.
“Obviously people just think that ‘oh, if you are paid well, then all your problems go away’. It doesn’t work like that,” he said.
“Everyone from the outside would never think anything could be wrong with you, because they are just looking at financial and material stuff, whereas mental health issues are all internal stuff, you have to look within.
“It doesn’t pick and choose. It can affect anybody and if it doesn’t affect you, normally will affect somebody close to you. Sometimes it is just having that first conversation which can change everything.
“It is OK to not feel OK all the time. It is really normal. Once you can start to accept that, then you will start to see that massive improvement.”
Lennon is relishing the prospect of pulling on his boots again to take part in Soccer Aid.
“I have heard so many good things about it. Everyone I spoke to always said this is the one you want to play in,” Lennon said.
“It is a great laugh, but then once the game starts, it is really serious. The lads want to win, the celebrities want to win, so I can’t wait.”
:: Soccer Aid for UNICEF takes place on June 15 at Old Trafford. Adult tickets start from £20 and juniors from £10. See socceraid.org.uk.
