Man United goalkeeper opens up on 'massive turning point' of autism diagnosis

Safia Middleton-Patel had just had the ‘best month of her life’ but was at her lowest ebb. At the age of just 18, the Manchester United goalkeeper had made her senior debut for Wales against the Philippines.

She was training regularly with United’s first team and had signed her first professional contract. But she realised she had to get help.

‘After my debut for Wales I had a meltdown,’ Middleton-Patel, 19, tells Mail Sport.

'I hit a brick wall. I couldn’t go outside, I was just down all the time. I was so low that it just didn’t make sense.’

The possibility that she might be autistic had crossed her mind before, but it was not until she reached out to United’s club doctor to get answers that a diagnosis was made.

‘I went to the doctor and said “I don’t think I’m normal, I don’t think I’m right, I think there’s something going on with me.”

‘I was struggling mentally in and out of football. I’d been thinking that maybe I was autistic, maybe I wasn’t, and seeing loads of posts on social media.

‘At the time I was thinking “I relate to this, I relate to that. People don’t think the same way as me.”

‘I just thought “I need to reach out for help otherwise I’m not going to make it. It’s going to be the worst year ever, I just need to get out of this black hole. I can’t continue like this.’

While her diagnosis was initially daunting, the goalkeeper says it has been a weight off her shoulders.

‘It’s been a massive turning point in my life. Don’t get me wrong, it was emotionally draining and once I got the diagnosis I was a bit like “what do I do from here?” I have a label, but that doesn’t really define me.

‘It was really hard for me to take because all my life I thought I was normal but actually I’m completely different and I see life