This was the 72 hours that led to Ricky Rubio's goodbye: "I don't see myself capable"

Monday everything fell apart suddenly. Ricky Rubio went to speak with Sergio Scariolo and told him something that the coach did not suspect: “I'm not well, I don't see myself capable”. A short time later, he was traveling to his home in El Masnou, where he made the decision not to return, at least this summer.

Until that day, the point guard and star of the team, MVP of the last World Cup whose title Spain has defended since the 25th of this month, had not given any sign that something was wrong.. He joined the camp with a smile, participated without any problem in training sessions, photo sessions and publicity and protocol events, he was physically perfect and seemed happy to have left behind a difficult season in Cleveland.

However, this Saturday a statement from the player, through the Federation, ended a week in which everything got worse very quickly: “I have decided to stop my professional activity to take care of my mental health. I want to thank all the support I have received from the FEB to understand my decision. Today La Familia makes more sense than ever. Thank you”.

“I really wanted to be here!”, he repeated, as they explain from the team's concentration, after a course in the NBA that started late due to recovery from the serious knee injury suffered in 21-22 and that ended with Ricky out of the Cavs' rotation.

From his environment they point out that those months were very hard for him, that he lost part of the illusion that has always pushed a career full of obstacles and could be the origin of the current situation, but nothing indicated it until Monday. Ricky arrived with a well-packed suitcase and planned various commitments with the FEB for the next month and a half. Unfortunately, something broke suddenly between Sunday and Monday.

Once he communicated his state of mind to the coach and the president, Jorge Garbajosa, they showed him their support and granted him permission without set dates to be absent from the Madrid concentration and take some time at his Barcelona home and see if he was better. Given the sensitivity of the problem, they decided not to make it public, although the team's training sessions are open-door and since Tuesday the star has not been there.. Surprisingly, the news did not spread and allowed those involved to gain time to wait for Ricky's evolution.. It didn't matter.

Although in principle everyone was confident that he would return, as the hours passed and the conversations between the player, coach and manager, pessimism began to spread in the team. Scariolo urgently summoned Juan Núñez, the young Ulm point guard who was training in Bilbao with Raül López, and walked the corridors of the Meliá Castilla hotel as if a black cloud were permanently hovering over him.

In strictly sporting terms, the loss of Rubio, who at 32 years old and 157 games with Spain was the great benchmark for the team (top scorer at the Tokyo 2021 Games with 25.5 points per game), is a tremendous blow that was confirmed Thursday. That day, Ricky called Scariolo from El Masnou and told him that he would definitely not return to play in the World Cup.. Although there was no turning back, it was decided to delay the official announcement for 48 hours so as not to cloud the first friendly against Venezuela, on Friday in Madrid. As many of the veterans rested, no one wondered where Ricky was even though he was the only one absent not sitting next to WiZink's bench.. Unfortunately, it was already many kilometers away.

No one in the player's environment dares to venture what the future will hold beyond this championship. “It could be a month, six, leave it…”, they point out, although hardly anyone believes that Ricky will not play again. It is not the first time that the fabulous Catalan point guard has spoken openly about his mental health. After the death of his mother, in 2016, he suffered a long depression and since then he has become one of the most committed sports stars in the fight to normalize, care for and deal with these diseases. Now it's up to him again. It has already won before.