Publications
Partners
Cape Town - Wilfried Zaha has revealed that he suffered from depression during a nightmarish spell at Manchester United.
READ: PSL blasts R50m SAFA OUTsurance sponsorship deal
The extremely talented 25-year-old, who joined the Red Devils as a teenager from current club Crystal Palace, says his time at Old Trafford made his depressed, but he learnt as a result.
Having struggled to find his form with the club during David Moyes' reign, where malicious rumours affected his game, the Ivory Coast international returned to the Eagles on loan, ahead of a spell at Cardiff City.
But Zaha was destined to re-join Palace, and after a productive loan spell in 2014/15, he signed permanently for his boyhood club in 2015.
Speaking to the Sun, he said: "Obviously, getting to United isn't easy, so not being given a chance is hard to take.
"I don't regret anything because it made me stronger. I feel as though I can deal with anything now.
"I went through so much with United, with England. There were rumours that the reason I wasn't playing for United was because I slept with David Moyes's daughter, and no one attempted to clear that up.
"So I was fighting my demons by myself, these rumours that I knew weren't true."
He added: "I was dealing with this at 19 - living in Manchester by myself, nowhere near anyone else, because the club had a hold over where I lived.
"They hadn't given me a car, like every other player. Nothing. I'm living in this hell by myself, away from my family, and I thought, 'if this doesn't make me stronger, what will?'
"When I was at United I had money, but I was still so down and depressed. People think your life's different because you've got money, you've got fame, so they don't treat you the same."
Zaha has three goals in four Premier League games this season.
