Bayern Munich defender Dayot Upamecano reveals that his stammer as a child made him afraid to talk 

Bayern Munich defender Dayot Upamecano has revealed that he was afraid to talk as a child because of his stammer.

The France international was scared that other students would make fun of him at school.

Upamecano, who is preparing to face Manchester City in the Champions League, stated that playing football helped him to become more confident. 

Upamecano, 24, told The Guardian: ‘Today I’m proud because I’ve progressed a lot. 

‘I was very scared. When you have a stammer as a kid you’re scared to talk because people will make fun of you. It’s difficult to distance yourself from it. You say to yourself all the time: ‘If I talk people will make fun.’ 

Dayot Upamecano revealed he was afraid to speak as a child because of his stammer

Upamecano told The Guardian: ‘Today I’m proud because I’ve progressed a lot. 

‘I was very scared. When you have a stammer as a kid you’re scared to talk because people will make fun of you. It’s difficult to distance yourself from it. You say to yourself all the time: ‘If I talk people will make fun.’ 

‘You don’t want to go up to the blackboard, or communicate in general, because you know people will be mocking you.’

Upamecano has four sisters, who he said supported him and encouraged him to talk.

He said: ‘They supported me. Always telling me to talk despite my speech impediment, even if people were making fun. They told me that I would eventually see that the people who mocked me would be the ones applauding me.

‘The most important thing was for me to talk. But it was hard. They weren’t in my situation as I was the only one with a stutter. In the end, though, I managed to distance myself from the mockery and take the advice that my family gave me.’

France international Upamecano says that playing football meant he had to talk more

Upamecano had help from a speech therapist but the sessions stopped when his parents divorced. He later started therapy again. 

He said: ‘Then my parents divorced. I started therapy again when I was 15.’

Upamecano says there wasn’t any psychological reason behind his stammer. He added that playing football for his local team meant that he had to talk more.

He said: ‘I think it was maybe because I would try and talk too fast.’ ‘The thing that helped me most was being on the pitch. As a defender I was obliged to speak. It was your role to see the game, to see all the players, so there was no choice.

The centre-back is preparing for Bayern Munich’s Champions League game v Manchester City

‘The coach made me captain, which gave me a lot of confidence. I was obliged to communicate with my teammates. I felt good on the pitch. No one made fun of me there. I didn’t stutter when I was playing.’

Upamecano started his professional career at Liefering before moving on to Red Bull Salzburg, RB Leipzig and then Bayern.

Last season Upamecano won the Bundesliga title with Bayern, while he was part of the France squad that reached the final of the 2022 World Cup.