Leeds United first team regular opens up on Elland Road difficulties, burnout and loneliness — YEP 18/3/26
By Graham Smyth
Brenden Aaronson has opened up on his Leeds United 'culture
shock' and social media hate, but insists he's thankful he went through the
Elland Road baptism of fire.
The US Men's National Team player arrived at Leeds from RB
Salzburg in the summer of 2022 for a fee in the region of £25m, aged just 21.
Although he was originally a transfer target for the club during Marcelo
Bielsa's tenure, Jesse Marsch was the man in charge when Aaronson eventually
made the move to Elland Road.
Speaking to the club's official podcast, Aaronson admitted
that the price tag meant a certain level of expectation. "I can't speak
enough about their development, but Salzburg is not the biggest fanbase and
stuff like that - no disrespect - but then coming to Leeds, I think I came in
for 20-something million and I'm a big signing and on that first day you've got
to be ready. You're a kid so you're like 'I'm going to go out there and just do
it.' And the crazy thing was, I kind of came in and kind of started doing
really well right off the bat and then you hit your kind of first roadblock and
then it's kind of hard to take it."
Aaronson says he struggled to understand why he was not
playing at his highest level, at a time when Leeds were losing games in a
season that would cost Marsch his job and relegate the club.
"I think it was hard because I think you're so young
and you're not used to it and you don't know how to really channel that energy
like I need to, you're just putting so much pressure on every performance -
like I got to score, you know, I got to do this, I got to do that. And I think
I was putting too much pressure on myself at the end of the day and I almost
hit burnout."
The American's situation was made harder by the loneliness
he felt before his fiancée moved across the pond to England, forcing him to
spend time with his loved ones on FaceTime only. And with on-field life not
going as planned, he struggled off the pitch.
"That was the first time I spent home away from
Christmas, so that was a little difficult," he said. "I don't want to
say any excuses, but I think it was difficult.
"I hit the ground running, you know what I mean? So, it
was easy, but then you hit that that period where you're not getting goals,
you're not getting assists, and that's what you're brought in to do. And that
was a that was definitely a shock for me. And it was tough. I didn't know how
to stay away from social media either, I never really had hate like that on
social media and stuff like that."
Almost four years on Aaronson says he's no longer bothered
by what is posted online, but he views his initial difficulties at Leeds
through a positive lens because he learned lessons.
"I've learned a lot. You grow, you have to go through
things and that's the biggest thing is how you get better. Looking back at that
time, I think I'm honestly blessed it happened. It kind of sounds crazy, but
I'm blessed that I went through that because I learned so much and I was able
to overcome it. I'm very open, I talk about my feelings to my family all the
time, I'm not afraid or hiding it, so I can understand that it's got to be
tough for people that aren't like me and I'm lucky because I have a family
that will listen to me and a fiancée that listens to me like that. So, that's
the biggest thing for me."
