Former Liverpool coach Jordan Fairclough is seeking to highlight mental health issues in football, telling of how a Liverpool player “thought about killing himself.”
While they may earn millions and live in mansions, no amount of money takes away from the fact that footballers are humans who face individual difficulties of their own.
Yes, a large salary and dream job can help alleviate some of life’s problems, but these luxuries don’t make players immune to mental health problems.
Fairclough, who was a first-team physical performance coach at Liverpool from 2018 until 2025, highlighted some of the psychological issues facing footballers in an interview with The Redmen TV.
LONDON, ENGLAND - Sunday, February 27, 2022: Liverpool's assistant fitness coach Jordan Fairclough runs onto the pitch to give Andy Robertson energy gels during the Football League Cup Final match between Chelsea FC and Liverpool FC at Wembley Stadium. Liverpool won 11-10 on penalties after a goal-less draw. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
“There was one of the players that I worked with at Liverpool who told me he thought about killing himself. It still chokes me to say it out loud today,” said Fairclough.
“He’s doing a lot better now, but just hearing him say that honestly really hit me. And I was the first person he told at that point, which was again like crazy.
“So I spoke to the PFA about this not long after I had those conversations. I guided the player towards a sports psychologist and they spoke and worked together for a period.”
How too much football could worsen mental illness among players and staff
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Saturday, January 31, 2026: Liverpool's Ibrahima Konaté (L) embraced by team-mate captain Virgil van Dijk after being overcome with emotion, his first game since the death of his father, after scoring his side's fourth goal during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Newcastle United FC at Anfield. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
While Fairclough’s role with the Reds was focused on physical performance, his close proximity to the squad gave him insight into the stresses faced by players.
Asked if the increasingly busy football season is having a negative impact on players, Fairclough, who has himself suffered from depression, agreed but was keen to highlight the mental difficulties that too much football could pose.
The 34-year-old said: “There’s the mental side as well. Mental capacities can also break down and become unhealthy and lead to potential poor mental health in the players.
“Like the burnout, the stress, how do you deal with that? A lot of the time players don’t and staff don’t as well.
“I think there was some independent research by a guy called Richard Husseiny as well, where he said 52 percent of coaches and performance staff are suffering from ongoing anxieties and stress essentially.
PRESTON, ENGLAND - Sunday, July 13, 2025: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah looking upset whilst the Liverpool fans chant Diogo Jota's song after a pre-season friendly match between Preston North End FC and Liverpool FC at Deepdale. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
“The mental health side of players and the staff is really hard to get right at times because we’re all guys and what do we do really well? We don’t tend to talk how we’re feeling in that sort of way.
“We’re all probably aware of the stats of suicide being the biggest killer in guys our age. Who works in football, what demographic? Guys our age.”
5 percent of footballers had suicidal thoughts
As a footballer, you are under an intense spotlight and personal abuse is deemed more acceptable than in other walks of life.
The PFA (Professional Footballers’ Association) run workshops at clubs, during which they conduct anonymous surveys.
One such study found that almost five percent of players in the Premier League and EFL had suicidal thoughts in the 2021/22 season.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Saturday, December 27, 2025: Dinis and Duarte, Diogo Jota's children, as mascots with Liverpool's captain Virgil van Dijk before the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Wolverhampton Wanderers FC at Anfield. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
Of 843 players, 40 said they had experienced thoughts about taking their own life in the three months before completing the survey.
Fairclough said: “It’s quite a morbid way to look at this, but thinking about stresses and not having time to rest, not having time to reset, not having time to recalibrate and that constant rat race of being in the football calendar with no time off, there will be some mental stress or mental health issues involved in there in some way, shape or form.
“Like I said, we don’t necessarily talk about it or work around it too well and who knows how that could impact, so in a real extreme point of view, I think, ‘Yeah, too much football could be quite bad’.”
Fairclough’s comments serve as a reminder that no matter how poorly the team are playing, criticism should not become abuse, and especially not personal abuse.
Liverpool supporters should be most aware of this, given the impact Diogo Jota‘s tragic death has had on the squad.
The effects of mental stress and illnesses aren’t always tangible, like a broken leg or pulled hamstring, but they should be treated with just as much caution.