He played with Messi, he was coached by Pep Guardiola, but he became disenchanted with football at an early age: the story of Adriá Carmona

football Professional means an emotional challenge for the vast majority of players. In this sense, there are many players who decide to leave the fields, and that was the case of Adriá Carmona, one of the most outstanding promises of The Masiawho decided to hang up his boots at the age of 28.

Carmona, who shared a dressing room with Lionel Messi and was under the direction of Pep Guardiola, he left football because, in his words, I had stopped enjoying it. Currently, at 32 years old, he seeks to help other young athletes manage the same difficulties that he faced, rediscovering emotional balance lost between passion and pressure.

What was Adriá Carmona’s career like?

Adriá grew up in a Catalan family that supported his passion for football since he was little. At the age of six, he was already standing out on local teams, which caught the attention of FC Barcelonawho recruited him to their prestigious academyLa Masía. His talent and skill led him to be considered one of the brightest promises of his generation.

His rise was meteoric: at the age of 15 he played with teammates three years older in the Barça youth team. This catapulted him to Spain U-17 teamwhere he was a starter in the 2008 European Championshiptournament in which his country came out champion. At Barcelona, ​​he got to share training sessions with legends like Xavi Hernández, Andrés Iniesta and Sergio Busquets. Although he did not play official matches with Messiboth were part of the same squad, an unforgettable experience for any young footballer.

Despite his early achievements, Carmona began to experience pressure that slowly began to cover his passion for the sport. “I realized this wasn’t just a game“, he confessed. At the age of 18, looking for minutes, he left Barça to sign for the AC Milan. However, the adaptation was difficult. “You are very good, but you need to play calmer“his partner told him Mauro TassottYo. Carmona could not transform his potential into consistent results.

His career continued in a downward spiral: brief steps through the Real Zaragoza, Girona, Albacete and other Spanish teams showed their difficulty in consolidating. In each club, expectations outweighed moments of enjoyment. At 17 years old, he was classified as the best player in Europe in his category; Years later, he wondered why he couldn’t reach that level of excellence again.

The last stage of his career took him to Indiawhere he played for Delhi Dynamos. There, far from the European spotlight, he began a process of introspection that would change his life forever.

Why Adriá Carmona retired

Adriá’s retirement was not a consequence of serious injuries or a lack of opportunities, but rather a deep disenchantment with football. “Everything happened very quickly. When football stopped being a game and became a job, I lost the enjoyment,” he explained in an interview. At 28 years old, he made the difficult decision to end his career.

During his time in India, he began studying tools of emotional coaching. It was there that he understood the importance of mental balance in high performance. “I saw that the people there had an emotional awareness that I had never developed,” he recalled. This discovery motivated him to help other athletes face the same difficulties that he suffered.

Today, Carmona works as ontological coach, providing support to players like Álvaro Morata and Arthur Melo. “My mission is to help them overcome their emotional blocks and regain their enjoyment of the game,” he said. For Carmona, his personal experience is his best tool: “We constantly visualize what we want to achieve. If I had had this guide before, perhaps my story would have been different.”