The legendary player for the Rangers, Nacho Novo, has acknowledged that he thought about killing himself after his football career ended.
After retiring from football in 2017, the Spaniard—who was put into the Ibrox club’s Hall of Fame in 2014—went through a depressive episode that eventually brought him to the lowest point of his life.
In 2018, Novo suffered a cardiac arrest while participating in a Berlin-based Rangers legends team game. He underwent life-saving emergency surgery.
“I’ll admit that after my football career ended, I experienced sadness.
“I consumed too much alcohol. I experimented with drugs, and at my lowest point, I considered taking my own life.
“I got through that crisis with the support of my wonderful friends and the professional assistance I sought for my mental health problems. I’m now on a quest to better myself and return to football in order to serve as an example for next players. My goals are to serve others and live a decent life.
The 45-year-old, who made 255 appearances for Rangers and scored 73 goals, is currently a coach at Drumchapel Utd, a team in the West of Scotland Football League, which is the sixth division of Scottish football.
Novo now has a platform to carry out his own recovery course and assist others at the same time thanks to the community club. He declared, “I am not the old Nacho.”
“I take recovery seriously because I know that the person who considered suicide wasn’t the real me. I now see how foolish I was at the time. For the sake of my 14-year-old son Javier, I had to make some adjustments as people change.
“I missed him terribly throughout my two years as a coach in America. I want to wake up every morning with hope for the future and I don’t want to let him down in any way. I am aware of my current fortunate fortune.
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