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Missing rugby player and X Factor star Levi Davis was depressed with ‘deep issues’ before he went missing two weeks ago, his mother has revealed.
Julie Davis told MailOnline that Levi was also contemplating quitting rugby after suffering an Anterior Cruciate Ligament injury, leaving him without a club and requiring surgery.
He had also spoken to her about finical problems and complained about his treatment by the rugby world, claiming that he had suffered racism during his career.
Levi, 24 who came fifth on X Factor: Celebrity in 2019, was last seen at The Old Irish Pub in Barcelona on October 29. He was captured on CCTV leaving the venue.
Prior to that he had been staying with a friend in Ibiza but suddenly told him that he was going to see some pals in the Catalan city and left without his belongings.
Ms Davis said: ‘There have been a lot of issues going on for Levi recently which he shared with me. I think it was a build up of these things which eventually just blew his mind.
‘Rugby has not been the best at looking after Levi and he’s suffered a lot of racial prejudice. He didn’t have a club and was also recently having money worries. At the same time there was some very deep emotional stuff around relationships that I can’t really go into.’
She added: ‘It seems as if everything just got too much for him and it’s led to Levi going missing. He’s had mental issues in the past but it seems as if this time he’s not been able to handle them.’
His distraught mother was speaking moments after being informed of two possible sightings of Levi over the weekend. One was of him on a beach in Sitges, just outside Barcelona while the other was of him sitting in the doorway of a shop in the city.
Ms Davis said: ‘A Spanish woman saw him on the beach in Sitges and noticed him after seeing all the media publicity about his disappearance. She said he looked homeless and dishevelled and when she tried to speak to him, he ignored her and walked away.
‘In the other sighting he was sitting in a doorway in Barcelona. The sightings are a bit of positive news at a difficult time for the family.
Before going missing, Levi had been staying with his close friend Richard Squire, who lives in Ibiza and told him that he was going to see some friends in Barcelona.
Julie Davis told MailOnline that Levi was also contemplating quitting rugby after suffering an Anterior Cruciate Ligament injury, leaving him without a club and requiring surgery.
This CCTV still from the pub Mr Davis was in before he vanished shows the rugby and X Factor star leaving the drinking spot
Rugby player Levi Davis is missing after not being seen for more than a week. His last known whereabouts were at The Old Irish pub in Barcelona on October 29
The 24-year-old winger starred on X Factor: Celebrity in 2019 and E4’s Celebs Go Dating in 2020. His close friend Richard Squire, who lives in Ibiza, said Mr Davis told him he was going to see some mates and got a boat to Barcelona
Fellow rugby star Thom Evans gave an emotional plea for information about the disappearance of his friend
Levi, who announced he was bisexual in 2020, is said to have left the island on a boat without clothes or cash, carrying just a small black backpack.
Ms Davis, 51 revealed that she and her eldest son Nathan, 34 are due to fly to Barcelona later this week to help with the search.
She added: ‘We’re going to do everything we can to find him and bring home so that he can get the help he needs.
‘He knows that we love him and will be there for him.’
Mr Davis, who appeared on E4’s Celebs Go Dating in 2020, was part of singing group call Try Star on ITV’s X Factor alongside fellow rugby stars Ben Foden and Thom Evans.
Ms Davis revealed that prior to going missing, Levi had told her that he was considering quitting rugby to focus on his music.
She added: ‘He said that he still loves the game but wasn’t sure if he had a future in it. That’s big life decisions, everything was up in the air for him but I think he’d had enough of English rugby.’
‘He announced suddenly that he was going to meet friends in Barcelona,’ friend Richard Squire told The Sun. ‘But he didn’t say who they were and we haven’t heard from him since I received a video from the Irish pub on October 29.’
He added that there’s been ‘no word from him since’ and everyone is getting ‘increasingly worried’.
England rugby stars Freddie Burns and Tom Varndell have posted on social media urging anyone who has seen him to get in contact.
Writing on Twitter, Varndell said: ‘If anyone has seen or heard from Levi Davis in the last two weeks could you please drop me a message asap. Many thanks.’
Leicester Tigers player Burns shared Varndell’s appeal, adding: ‘Please share. Praying Levi is found safe and well’.
Former England rugby star Tom Varndell has urged anybody who has seen missing rugby player Levi Davis to make contact
The winger, 24, starred in a singing group on X Factor: Celebrity in 2019 and took part in E4’s Celebs Go Dating in 2020
Davis, who appeared on E4’s Celebs Go Dating in 2020, was part of singing group call Try Star on ITV’s X Factor alongside fellow rugby stars Ben Foden and Thom Evans.
Evans gave an emotional plea for information about Davis’s disappearance.
He shared a missing poster of Davis and wrote on Instagram: ‘I’m very worried about the whereabouts of my friend.
‘If anyone knows anything please contact the information below.’
His former club, Bath Rugby, issued an appeal for information about the whereabouts of the athlete.
The rugby player’s ‘worried’ family have also reported him as a missing person to local police in Spain.
His mother Julie Davis told The Sun: ‘Levi’s family and I are very worried about him and desperate to know that he is OK.
‘Levi please get in touch with us or if anyone knows anything please contact us.
He was last spotted in The Old Irish pub off La Rambla in Barcelona, Spain, on October 29
Davis starred alongside fellow rugby stars Thom Evans (left, next to Dermot O’Leary) and Ben Foden in a singing group called Try Star
‘Nobody has heard from him since October 29 when he was last known to be in The Old Irish Pub in Barcelona.’
Mr Davis began his rugby career at Bath in 2017 and now plays for Worthing Raiders in the National League 2 South.
He scored the first try of the season in 2019-2020 before being moved on loan to Ealing Rugby. He later left the club.
In 2020 he became the first professional rugby player to come out as bisexual in an interview with the Mail on Sunday.
He said he told his teammates about his sexuality via a group message on WhatsApp.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: ‘We are providing consular support to the family of a British man who has been reported missing in Spain.’
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