Rising Soccer Star Mohammed Ihattaren Opens Up About Personal Struggles and Career Setback

"I’ve been through a lot for my age. I had never thought about it. It only happened a year ago, after my transfer. I could no longer afford to play football every day." The young man has still not accepted the death, three years ago, of his father Mostapha. "It changed my life a lot. Now I realize that having parents is the best thing there is. My father was my biggest fan. He was there first at every game. No matter when and where. His death hurt me a lot," the player said.

The death of his father led to a series of difficulties for Ihattaren, especially on a professional level. "I had never experienced anything before. I came to PSV 1 as a young boy. I was a kid. I may still be. At that time, you go through things. You don’t expect that at 18. That you suddenly have to pray for your father, while you see teammates calling their father every day."

Saved at the last minute by Juventus, Mohammed Ihattaren had to get his career back on track in Italy. But far from his loved ones, he could not bear the loneliness. "Alone, yes, and then you naturally start to think. I could no longer bring myself to be on the field every day. Mentally, I couldn’t handle it. That’s when I said to myself: I want to go back to my family. Now I have to think about myself. That’s why I wanted to return to a family environment. I didn’t want anything anymore. At those times, you don’t really know what’s going on, everything goes very fast. I slept late. Due to my emotions, I also ate very poorly. People didn’t understand me. That’s where I started to isolate myself and stopped giving news. I wanted to give myself time."

On loan to Ajax by Juventus for a year, the player claims to still need time to fully recover in order to give his best.