Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini felt Josip Ilicic was on the brink of winning the Ballon d'Or before being hit by depression.

Ilicic eventually faded out of the Italian game after struggling with depression brought by the Italian government's lockdown. He now plays for Maribor.

Gasperini told Radio Serie A: "He got sick here, even though we were all separated, we ate apart, respecting the rules. At a certain point he started to have symptoms, to feel unwell, from there he completely isolated himself, it was a progression.

"He could no longer bear not being at home, the distance from his family. That's where his difficulty began. We have always been close to him, he was an absolutely normal boy, it was always him but with this serious difficulty.

"He had finished in Valencia, he had scored four goals. Perhaps he was the player indicated as eligible for the Ballon d'Or, certainly among the first in Europe. I remember we had to go to play in Lisbon, against Paris Saint Germain, he had lost something like 10-12 kg. He was impressive, I pulled him up like a dummy, I told him 'Come on Josip, come with us...'"