Manchester United Youth Cup winning captain Tom Thorpe opens up on mental health issues and spoiled debut – Man United News And Transfer News

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Former captain of the Manchester United under 21s, Tom Thorpe, has opened up about some dark times in his life and spoken of the promise of working with the young generation.

The captain of the 2011 Youth Cup winners, whose side contained Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard, spoke to The Daily Mail and revealed some fascinating insights into his career journey.

The defender was “a highly rated young centre-back with exceptional ability on the ball”. This progress gave him the opportunity to make his first team debut.

Thorpe recalls the moment, coming on for Angel Di Maria in 2014 against West Ham at Old Trafford. It would normally have been a joyous moment however it was spoiled by then-manager, Louis van Gaal.

Of the experience, the former defender said, “It was soured by the manager at the time. (The manager’s reaction) was a patronising slap on the cheek and ‘You’re welcome’. That made me feel as though all the hard work that I’d done over 15 years was, I guess, not warranted”.

In what would be the academy graduate’s only appearance for the club, the Stalybridge Celtic centre-back claimed “I look back at it. I’m obviously proud of it, but there’s that slight tainted feeling towards it”.

Unfortunately, that was the biggest stage Thorpe would play on in his career as “a series of freak injuries and mental health issues brought his career to a shuddering halt in 2018”, before recommencing earlier this year.

The Daily Mail claims, “his story shines a light on the darker side of life in football, the battles beyond the pitch. As sport’s biggest names begin to open up on the struggles at the top, Thorpe wants to share his story, too”.

The former United academy graduate now speaks on behalf of Sporting Chance – the clinic set up by Tony Adams, which aims to help professional sports players who are struggling with addiction and mental health issues.

The former youth team captain claims it was the pressures he put on himself that began to sow the seeds for his problems. He revealed, “I never felt at the time the pressure of captaincy, I was just my own biggest critic. It didn’t matter if I had 50 people saying ‘You were amazing today’. If I thought I’d done one thing wrong, that is what my focus would have been on”.

The Mancunian went on to state that an endless series of ankle ligament issues would plague him throughout his early career, physically and mentally. The defender had joined Birmingham City on loan in 2014 but had his debut cut short after only 14 minutes. Reflecting on the injury he stated, “It was obviously traumatic for me to deal with, but then the added mental aspect of ‘why now?’, I think that that was a big hurdle”.

Thorpe would later suffer further injuries and fell into depression. He commented, “It was a very difficult time of trying to get myself out of, what felt like a bottomless pit. Human nature tells you if there’s light at the end of the tunnel, then you can keep going and you can strive for it. Whereas with depression, there’s just no light, you’re just in this abyss”.

It was the effect his mental state was having on his parents that made him turn to Sporting Chance, the charity which he now represents.

Thorpe credits the decision to seek help “turned the key” that freed him from his troubles. It “rekindled” his love for the game and he got into a nine-a-side kick about in Manchester with some other players. He left the game in 2018 after a brief spell in India but returned to English football in April 2023.

He is now back at United, “training at Carrington as part of the club’s own alumni initiative to help former graduates re-connect with the game”.

The 30-year-old is now returning the favour, running workshops for youth players up and down the country in collaboration with the charity. The defender argues that the fact more people are seeking help is a major sign of the charity’s success. The defender finished off by claiming, “Football in particular still has this big stigma behind it. I think it’s changing slowly. I think it’s changing slowly and with the help of charities like Sporting Chance it’s definitely improving”.

All United fans will be glad to hear that Thorpe is in a much better place now and doing his best to help out the many people who are suffering just like he did.