At a glance
- FC Barcelona star Marc Bernal confessed to sometimes overthinking things.
- In an interview with MARCA, he revealed he is still seeing a psychologist after initially starting therapy as a 14-year-old in La Masia.
- Mental health professionals have helped the midfielder recover from his ACL tear and also deal with the demands of being a teenager playing in the Champions League.
Rising FC Barcelona midfielder Marc Bernal made brave confessions regarding his health during an interview with MARCA.
Revealing that he has seen a psychologist since the age of 14, Bernal explained how such a professional helping him get over his tragic ACL rupture, deal with his own thoughts, and handle the pressure of being a teenager playing in the Champions League.
Bernal was reminded that he started seeing a mental health specialist long before his season-ending knock picked up during an August 2024 La Liga match at Rayo Vallecano.
“It was when I was 14, when I entered La Masia,” Bernal confirmed. “My agent recommended it to me and since then I haven’t changed. It has gone very well for me. Even now that I’m in a good moment, I think it’s important. And with the injury it was fundamental for me.”
Bernal championed the benefits of psychology at FC Barcelona
Then asked why he still continues to have therapy sessions given he has clearly gotten over the setback, and is now a lock in Hansi Flick’s midfield while Frenkie de Jong continues to prepare a comeback from his own injury, Bernal said: “At the end of the day, I’m still 18 years old and I play in the Champions League, in big games.
“That’s what I manage the most with him. And also off the pitch, knowing how to get out of your environment, away from the training ground.
“I think that sometimes I eat my head with things that maybe aren’t that big of a deal and I give them more thought [than they’re worth].
“Especially when I returned, at that time I thought that my teammates were on a different level than me, that I had just returned, that I was not going to make it. It was hard there. But I tried it with the psychologist and I have improved a lot,” he bravely further confessed.
Recovering from his injury was only half of the battle for FC Barcelona’s Bernal
Showing a maturity beyond his years as ‘Class of 2007’ La Masia graduates such as Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi have done constantly, Bernal’s courageous confessions show that there’s far more to deal with than simply recovering from an injury or performing well on the pitch.
Being a product of the world’s most famous academy, and having to succeed the likes of Sergio Busquets, brings with it a different type of pressure, and it’s easy to see why clubs like Barça mandate mental health support from a young age.
Bernal indicated how therapy helped him compartmentalise his thoughts, but perhaps it also has a positive impact on his composure and mental clarity when the ball is at his feet in the heart of the Blaugrana midfield amid intense opposition pressing.
At a time when he’s an emerging prospect that we don’t know everything about, such interviews help us understand both the person and the player a lot better.
Mental health and dealing with it continues to become less of a stigma in sports
It is telling that Andres Iniesta, who has been very frank about his mental battles when losing close friend Dani Jarque, was one of those that sent Bernal support and well wishes upon becoming sidelined.
The Barça icon and fellow La Masia graduates Bojan Krkic – now the co-ordinator of the academy – have normalised speaking out.
In the modern age, this has later proven a success for someone as young as Bernal to feel comfortable admitting his struggles whereas before it might have been viewed as a weakness.
