Shaw's powerful message about mental health

The 25-year-old defender speaks candidly in an interview for adidas with Harry Pinero, a presenter and Reds supporter who admits that watching the team has been good for his own wellbeing. 

Shaw has overcome several challenges throughout his flourishing career and most notably when recovering from the broken ankle he suffered when playing in the Champions League in 2015.

Asked how much he has seen the important of mental health, Shaw says: “Yeah, massively.

“I'll be honest, it's been really refreshing to see that people are able and have that confidence now to come out and speak. Outside of football with my friends, I think if any of us in our WhatsApp group have a problem, I feel like none of us really speak about it. 

“Us as lads, especially in our football industry, maybe we've got a lot of pride and we don't want to speak out because we just think ‘we'll go home, I'll deal with it myself and maybe the next day I'll feel better’, when it just keeps eating you up inside and I've felt like that before. 

“I've been in a bad place and spoken out because I've been through a lot. So I think I tried going that sort of route where I sort of built it up and dealt with it myself, and it never really works. 

“So like I said, it's really refreshing to be able to see people coming out and talking.”

A problem shared is a problem halved, they say, and Shaw admits his dad is a helpful sounding board – even if he doesn’t always like the feedback he receives.

“I've always been close with my dad with my football and stuff,” says Luke. 

“It's nice that I've got my dad to be able to ring after the game and talk about the game, see sort of his side. Even though sometimes I might disagree with him, we might have a little argument, because he might say something that I don't like, when I know he's right!”