Buffon opens up on depression: What could be dangerous about all this? Serie A Goalkeeper spoke of difficult times

Rarely do footballers at the very top of their game get viewed in the same way as everyday people, yet Gianluigi Buffon has sensationally admitted he has suffered from depression throughout both his career and life.

When he was 26 years old, Buffon felt into a deep depression and has finally told his story in an autobiographical letter.

"You receive things that are very intoxicating, but also very dangerous: money, fame and your dream job, and people think 'what could be dangerous about all this?" Buffon admitted in a piece on the Players' Tribune.

"If you live in a nihilistic way, looking only at football, your soul will begin to change and you will be so depressed that you can no longer get out of bed.

"It's true that a goalkeeper needs confidence, he needs to be brave, if you gave a coach the choice between the most technical keeper and the bravest, I guarantee he'd choose the crazy bastard every time."

Buffon continued to detail the physical toll that his condition would eventually take on him, especially when it was at its worst.

"One morning, when you get out of bed to go to training, your legs will start shaking uncontrollable," he added.

"You'll be so weak that you won't be able to drive a car, and you'll think it's just fatigue or a virus, but then it will get worse.

"The only thing you will want to do is sleep, in training every save will feel like a titanic effort, for seven months you will have difficulty finding joy in life, your routine can become a prison."

These words were written in the form of a letter to his 17-year-old self, the young Parma goalkeeper who had just made his senior debut.

"You can laugh, but that's what will happen to you, it will arrive at the highest point in your career, when you have everything a man can ask of life," he continued.

"You'll be 26, you'll be the goalkeeper for both Juventus and the national team, you will have money and respect, everyone will call you Superman.

"Mistakes are important because they remind you that you're human, they will remind you that you don't know anything, my friend, it's important because the football world will try to convince you that you're special, but always remember that you're no different from a barman or an electrician, the people you're friends with."