Christian Pulisic is ready to pull back the curtain

USA Today

15-02-2025

Christian Pulisic is ready to pull back the curtain
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Christian Pulisic has valued his privacy during his hugely impactful decade in the pro game. But the U.S. men's national team star is ready to let the world get a little more acquainted with the person, not just the player.
During the most recent episodes of the Paramount+ documentary series "Pulisic," the AC Milan forward continues to delve into his family, his past, and his relationships with friends as well as pro golfer girlfriend Alexa Melton.
The second episode, released on Jan. 20, explores Pulisic's often difficult introduction to the European game at Borussia Dortmund. The third, which is out Monday, explores Pulisic's nomadic upbringing, his family, and his relationship with Melton.
In both episodes, Pulisic offers a window into his mind that hasn't often been seen since his pro career began with Dortmund in 2016.
Before Pulisic debuted for Dortmund at age 17, he had to work his way through the club's academy. In the second episode of the series, Pulisic admitted he was "terrified" to leave Pennsylvania at age 15 and that he didn't receive a warm welcome from fellow youth players in Dortmund.
"These kids don't like me," Pulisic said in the show. "These kids won't pass me the ball in training sessions. They don't want to see me succeed."
In an interview with Pro Soccer Wire, the AC Milan and USMNT forward said the second episode allowed him to reflect on the difficult early steps he took in Europe.
"It brought back a lot of crazy memories, mostly a lot of the tough times that I went through," Pulisic said. "I'm glad that some people will get to see what it's like. It's not always super glamorous.
"Leaving at 15 and leaving your home and all your family and friends behind, moving across the world and just trying to take on a challenge that you're not really guaranteed anything. It was extremely difficult."
Pulisic was able to break through at Dortmund in spite of a daunting scenario for anyone, let alone a 15-year-old: a new country, a new language, a new team and a professional environment combined with full-time school.
The Pennsylvania native said those early years helped to strengthen his mentality, which he's continued to refine through almost a decade in the crucible of some of Europe's biggest clubs.
"I deal with difficult moments, whatever the case is — bad performance or things going on outside of the game. I deal with it a lot better now than I than I did five years ago, and than I did 10 years ago. It's all part of growing up," he said.
"I've spoken with a lot of teammates and a lot of coaches, and kind of picking their brains and seeing how they've gone through things. Mostly by my closest support system, which I think is highlighted in that third episode. They're the people who helped me get through it."
Pulisic mostly lived in Pennsylvania until his move to Dortmund, but also spent a year in England and three years in Detroit after his father Mark was named head coach of pro indoor team Detroit Ignition.
The ability to adapt to change was ingrained in Pulisic early on. It's a trait that has helped with several big moves in his career, which has now taken him from Germany to England to Italy.
Pulisic's life in Italy is interspersed with footage from his childhood during the series, showing how his upbringing helped shape his present. One element of Pulisic's life that that the show demonstrates in greater detail than anything before is his relationship with Melton.
The pair first interacted when Pulisic, as he says in the series, "slid into [her] DMs" after seeing videos of the pro golfer on social media.
From there, a burgeoning relationship formed. Having never dated seriously before, Pulisic said that having another close member of his inner circle outside of family is invaluable.
Asked what Melton has added to his life, Pulisic responded: "I think just allowing myself to let someone else in my life, besides my direct family, that I can enjoy their presence and talk to regularly. Pulisic added that Melton is "someone who isn't interested in me because of what I do on a soccer field at all."
In fact, Pulisic said that he and Melton don't even talk about his day job.
"It's nice to have something like that and just step away from the game. Me and her, we don't ever talk about soccer. And I love that. That's one of my favorite things. So it's been great."
Having a new relationship is one thing, but pulling back the curtain for the world to see is another thing entirely. As Pulisic becomes more comfortable in the limelight, he feels ready — or at least more ready than before — to let the public into his personal life.
"I think that definitely is going to be different for me," he said of showing his relationship on camera. "To be honest, I didn't have any difficulty talking about it. I'm pretty comfortable with my relationships, so I don't think it's any crazy breaking news or anything to anyone.
"I think it's more just about realizing where I'm at, documenting me and understanding this was like my first real relationship, pretty late into my life I guess you could say. I'm more than happy for people to see it and I'm excited about it."