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A standing ovation prevailed in the 1899 Auditorium. Ricky Rubio took the stage after signing his new contract with Barcelona, under the watchful eye of the club’s president, Joan Laporta, and the person in charge of the basketball section, Josep Cubells. Now, after “going through the darkness,” Rubio is already smiling. “I break the silence that he had in a special way. I want to thank you for the privacy I requested. It was a complicated moment,” shared the point guard in his presentation with the Barça club, to which he returns – he was part of the team between 2009 and 2011 – after making his debut with the national team after six months away from the courts due to his mental health. “I have saved myself. I’m here, and now I pamper myself more and I’m not so self-demanding. The player ate the person. There are many grays in life and I am learning to draw in gray,” shared the player. A Ricky who is “being built”, and although he maintains the same essence, he confesses that he feels “strange”. But above all, he believed himself to be a “coward” for having lost his strength, and even considered faking an injury to avoid giving explanations: “At first I thought about it. But I think I can help others going through the same thing. That it is spoken is a victory for society.”
“For the first time I prioritized myself, I thought of myself first and I think it was the right decision,” confessed the 33-year-old player. At the club, he is also above his mental health and well-being, which has been battered for a while. “I have developed chronic stress. I never gave him a label of depression or anxiety disorder,” added the point guard, who assured that his path involves taking care of himself. It was a matter of an internal factor, he shared, but also an external one: basketball. “I felt like I had to get away from basketball. They understood it. But I was very scared,” said the player. Now he just wants to “enjoy, be comfortable,” with the clear objective of “using mechanisms to enjoy basketball and help the team.”
A club that has appreciated his return. “It is a special day, for Barça and basketball. Ricky returns to the Palau and does so to help the staff and his teammates to achieve the season’s objectives. It is a dream that you returned to play for Barcelona. Show your commitment to the club, and your love for basketball. Your explanations are from a brave, serene and sensible person,” shared Joan Laporta, grateful for Rubio’s return on a sporting level, but also on a personal level. “You are an exceptional human being. You have a smile that dazzles us and your ability to excel is extraordinary,” added the president, who was full of praise for the Masnou player. Josep Cubells also took the opportunity to emphasize the importance of his figure: “With Ricky there is magic on the court. Few players inspire enthusiasm for all basketball fans. The important thing is that you feel well, and we will see that on the track. We work so that you are well on a personal level, that is the most important thing.”
Walking through the mountains with his therapist, he told him that he was feeling better. “Since August 1, every day I got up, basketball was over, because the person disappeared,” he explained about his resignation from the Spanish national team’s training camp before this summer’s World Cup. His mind had been lost in a “dark place.” And shortly afterward he resigned to continue with the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers, where he has spent more than a decade. Half a year later he returned to touch the ball for the national team, and debut in the game that pitted Spain against Latvia in the qualification for the 2025 Eurobasket. He finished with 11 points and five assists. Ricky Rubio was back. “It was like climbing the Dragon-Khan. Basketball is like a game. We take it as life or death, and that’s not the case,” the point guard explained.
“Basketball was over forever, but in these two months I have been working to get back,” shared the player who, for the moment, wants to focus on his return to Barcelona. “What I asked of Barça was not easy. Join a professional team in the middle of the season, with certain conditions. The locker room has accepted me in an incredible way. I have felt loved and respected. I was completely right about where to come,” shared the point guard under the gaze of the team captain, Álex Abrines, and the coach, Roger Grimau, present at the event. At the moment, his contract is only for this year, but he is committed to contributing as much as possible, “adjusting the machine after seven months stopped.” His debut could be this Friday against Monaco, but the point guard understands that he could wait. Ricky Rubio was already smiling off the slopes. Now he also does it with the ball in his hand. He hopes to enjoy himself, but above all, he is taking care of himself above his player.