Brazilian footballer Danilo Luiz da Silva has opened up about his time at Real Madrid and how Pep Guardiola played a key role in his footballing rebirth. In an interview with The Guardian, the current Flamengo player reflected on the difficult moments he faced at the Spanish club and the transformation he underwent under the guidance of the Catalan coach at Manchester City.

Suffering at Real Madrid

Danilo joined Real Madrid in 2015 from Porto with high expectations, but his performances never fully convinced the fans or the media. "The Real Madrid experience was the peak of this problem because it’s the biggest club in the world. I suffered so much that I had to seek psychological help. There were moments when it seemed like I didn’t remember how to play football anymore. The criticism hurt a lot. I was completely trapped in it, in social media, in everything. That’s when I started working with a sports psychologist," confessed the right-back.

Rebirth under Guardiola's guidance

After two seasons with the Madrid squad, Danilo joined Manchester City in 2017, where his career took a positive turn thanks to Guardiola. "Guardiola educates his players. That’s the most important thing about his job. He makes all the players think about football the same way: time, space, movement, possession, ball care," he explained. He also highlighted how the Spanish coach changed his view of the game: "He makes you understand the spaces on the field like no other coach and experiences the game with emotions like no other."

Danilo did not hesitate to recognize Guardiola’s influence on his career: "Guardiola instilled in me a good dose of respect, but in a good way. It was like being at university. What I experienced with him allowed me to raise my level and keep it up until today. It’s not that I was an idiot before I arrived at Manchester City, but I realized I was playing football completely wrong. If I had known him earlier, it would’ve made my life much easier."

The importance of mental health in football

Danilo also reflected on the importance of mental health in football and criticized clubs for their lack of attention to this aspect. "I’m going to be very direct: clubs will only do something when they realize the financial damage they are suffering. When clubs realize how many players they are losing due to emotional and psychological problems, they’ll think twice and start investing because that represents a technical and financial value for the team. And that’s horrible because they don’t care about the human being. We need to humanize football more," the Brazilian concluded.