"I suffered depression when I arrived at Real Madrid"

Danilo spent two seasons at Real Madrid before joining Manchester City and then Juventus. His spell with the 'Merengues' was short and full of negative aspects. The Brazilian reviewed his time at the Santiago Bernabeu in an interview for 'The Player's Tribune'.

"During the first season I suffered from depression. I was lost, I felt useless, on the pitch I couldn't make a pass of more than 5 metres, it was as if I couldn't move... My passion for football disappeared and I saw no way out. I wanted to go back home to Brazil and never play again," he explained.

The Brazilian let on that his high cost may have taken its toll: "I didn't see myself as Baianinho, the son of Baiano (that's his father's nickname). I saw myself as Danilo, the one who had signed for 31 million euros, as the newspapers reported: the most expensive defender Real Madrid had ever bought".

Danilo commented on his performance against Deportivo Alaves in his first season as a 'Merengue': "Theo Hernandez stole the ball from me and set up Deyverson. We won 4-1, but it was a mistake you can't make at Real Madrid. I will never forget coming home that night and not being able to sleep. I wrote in my notebook: 'I think it's time to quit football'. I was 24 years old!".

"Which part of me was really feeling the pressure - the boy who had been a surpise package as Porto's right-back? Or the boy from Bicas who had suddenly signed for the biggest team in the world? The answer was clear. Deep down you are still, and always will be, the Bicas boy," he continued.

As for whether he received any help, he said: "I didn't tell anyone what I was feeling. Casemiro tried to help me, but I swallowed the frog, as they say. It got bigger and bigger. But after a few months of suffering, I started going to see a psychologist and he really saved my career. The most important lesson he taught me was to see the game again through the eyes of a child.