Newcastle United defender Dan Burn has opened up about his struggles with suicidal thoughts during the early stages of his career, revealing that he once broke down crying in a car park before a game. The 34-year-old says speaking to someone at Fulham helped him learn to manage those feelings.
Career Challenges and Personal Struggles
Burn faced a number of challenges as a young footballer, including being released by Newcastle and his parents getting divorced. He earned a big break by signing for Premier League club Fulham in 2011, but that was when his issues began.
Due to spending a lot of time by himself and playing minimal minutes, Burn admits that he got into his own head. He even managed to convince himself that he had a brain tumour before later breaking down before a game.
Breaking Point and Seeking Help
In a revealing interview with The Times, Burn described his state of mind: "I'd played Premier League football, but then we'd been relegated and I wasn't really getting a kick. I was spending a lot of time by myself because my wife worked, so I would go home to the flat and I would just sit there, and I think it started from there."
He added: "My parents got divorced and I think I didn't deal with it well. I was trying to be strong for my brother and the family and I probably didn't really deal with a lot of those feelings, and that was coupled with me not having a great time in football."
Burn said he was having suicidal thoughts and had convinced himself he was dying. He sent himself to a neurosurgeon in Harley Street, but still did not believe them when they said he was fine.
"Then, one day, I turned up to Fulham for a game and I was just in the car park crying. I couldn't get out of the car. I was on the phone to my mum saying, 'I can't do this any more, I can't feel like this,'" he recounted.
Recovery and Recent Career
Burn said he spoke to someone at Fulham, who then got him help. "I managed to learn tools of why I was feeling that way, if I ever had those feelings again, how to deal with it, how to look at triggers that were setting us off. I just worked through a lot of things, and now I feel good, I'm in a good space. I don't let a bad day turn into a bad week and a bad month, which is what I used to do."
Burn re-joined his boyhood club in 2022 and has since played in the Champions League, scoring in their historic Carabao Cup triumph. Strong performances for the Magpies saw him included in Thomas Tuchel's England squad at the World Cup, but he has not been named in the latest 25-man group.
It has been a challenging start to the season for Burn and his team-mates, with Newcastle thirteenth in the Premier League table and the defender only returning from injury in the last few weeks. If you're struggling and need to talk, the Samaritans operate a free helpline open 24/7 on 116 123.
