Premier League icon Emile Heskey has opened up on his struggles with depression following his decision to leave hometown club Leicester City for Liverpool .
Heskey, 41, arrived at Anfield in 2000 to become the Reds' record signing at the time, having impressed in six years with the Foxes where he had earned a reputation as one of England's hottest properties.
The forward went on to enjoy a respectable four-year spell at Liverpool and was part of the 2001 Treble-winning squad who memorably lifted the League Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup.
But the footballer endured a tough start to his Liverpool career and has revealed that homesickness left him an emotional wreck.
“It lasted six months,” Heskey told The Guardian. “I had to grow up very quickly because I had kids, I had a girlfriend. I literally laid on the floor and started crying. I was like, ‘What have I done? I don’t know if I have done the right thing’.
"But the weirdest thing was I’d go to training [and] I would be all right.
“Then like a drop of a hat I found a barber, I found friends, a routine. Yes, it was a tough time but it was weird, I was silly and looking back you think, 'Why didn’t you just go and sit with mates?'”
Despite earning 62 England caps and sitting as just one of 28 strikers to score at least 100 Premier League goals, Heskey has often been criticised for his underwhelming goalscoring rate.
But Heskey has hit back and his critics and you said: “I play for the team; it wasn’t anything that really bothered me.
“I know [some] forwards will go out and if [the team] score five and they don’t, they are fuming. I don’t care. I still got to the top 1 per cent or whatever of the game.
“Your son is eight," he explained. "So if I tell you by the age of 24 he would’ve represented England youth all the way through, would have made his debut at 17 and gone to three cup finals in four years for his hometown team, then been sold for a record to Liverpool – one of the biggest clubs in the world; then he’d go on to win the treble [FA Cup, League Cup, UEFA Cup] that first season, represent England at two World Cups, in the European Championships, and play in one of England’s most memorable games to date, winning God knows, six or seven trophies by the age of 24, how would you feel?”
