Gay footballer Robbie Rogers has admitted that he struggled with his mental health while keeping his sexuality secret.
The former Leeds United winger came out last February while also announcing his retirement, but has since returned to playing with MLS side Los Angeles Galaxy.
In an interview with Attitude magazine, the 26-year-old said: "Definitely in my career there were so many times when I struggled with my mental health. That affected the way I played.
"For younger people that are closeted and they see that it's illegal to be gay in Qatar, then they know that the World Cup's going to be there and maybe they're football fans? That's so damaging on their psyche, on their mental health.
"My thing was that I was done and I was going to [come out] on my own terms, away from a football club. I was going to take some time to myself and no-one was going to try and persuade me to do that while I was back in football and no-one was going to persuade me to do it in any other way."
The American has 18 international caps and two goals for his country.
Sian Cowper
