Peter Crouch speaks out on mental health struggles during football career

He has teamed up with Three, The Samaritans and Chelsea FC for the #TalkMoreThanFootball initiative

The 44-year-old has teamed up with Three and Samaritans as their #TalkMoreThanFootball initiative returns for a third year as figures show that 64 per cent of football fans struggle with their mental health.

Crouch, who achieved over 460 Premier League appearances has spoken openly about his own mental health.

He said: “I'm probably guilty of this more than anyone - I keep my feelings to myself. I've definitely become better as I've gotten older, but certainly in the early years, I was very insular. I wouldn't share it.”

Crouch suffered with the effects of bullying and body image issues throughout his career something he didn’t feel comfortable talking to his colleagues about.

He said: “You wouldn't go to your manager, you wouldn't go to a teammate. You think your teammates are going to take the mick out of you, or you think the manager might drop you. Or think you're mentally weak.”

Now, with almost half (42 per cent) of those surveyed turning to an unlikely source of support - taxi drivers - the former Stoke City striker is to launch a fleet of bespoke mental health taxis, driven by selected cabbies who have received specialist training from Samaritans to help get the nation talking more than football.

“My own personal opinion was, if I had someone to talk to like that, I think it would have been a lot easier,” He said. “I watched my wife talking to her friends about absolutely everything but I think the men in my life and myself, we’re not really like that.”

On Thursday 3^rd April, Three’s #TalkMoreThanFootball taxi fleet will offer free rides to passengers who are willing to talk about their mental health or simply use the journey to check in with one another. 

The taxis will be travelling from West Brompton Tube station to Stamford Bridge ahead of the Premier League clash between Chelsea FC and Tottenham Hotspur in London.

It is not the first initiative Crouch has been involved in in an effort to get men talking about their mental health, he did a team talk with Prince William and Gareth Southgate on the subject which was a big success.

While the statistics are alarming, the former England international believes the situation is getting better.

He said: “There's definitely a stigma around football. It's very kind of macho, and it's a sign of weakness to talk about your issues and problems. 

“But I definitely think it's getting better and of course initiatives like this, being able to get into a taxi and speak to someone impartial is a great thing to be a part of.”

Crouch also spoke about the pressures on young footballers coming into the game under the scrutiny of social media.

“The treatment sometimes of players, everyone goes, ‘oh, but they’re incredibly well paid. They do a job that everyone would love to do’. 

“But when you are in that, playing on the pitch in front of 60,000 people, it's such a rush, a buzz and then when you get home, you're quite often on your own and there's no one around, you’re just left with your thoughts. 

“Even though you've got an amazing job, you can still have problems. I think the clubs are so much more equipped to deal with it than they were, when I was coming through as a young player but it's the stigma associated with it and not being able to talk. Can they do more? Of course.”

He continued: “The minute you pick up your phone, you can see someone criticizing you. I remember when I was going through a tough spot at Liverpool. It became a national news story, you know. I just stopped buying newspapers. I stopped watching the telly. I tried to keep myself away from it. 

“These days it's hard to switch off with social media. That's something that young players have to adapt to that I didn't, but there's also great positives that come out of social media as well. So it's not all doom and gloom.”

With this latest campaign, Crouch hopes it will get football fans thinking about their struggles and opening up to someone about their feelings.

He said: “Hopefully gets a lot of people thinking - Am I okay at the moment? Could I do with talking to someone? Even if it helps just one person, it'd be worth doing.”