Former Liverpool and England footballer Danny Murphy has opened up about his use of cocaine after retiring from the sport.
The 47-year-old enjoyed a successful career with the Reds, winning the FA Cup and UEFA Cup, before playing for Fulham and Tottenham.
The midfielder retired in 2013, having made a total of 417 Premier League appearances, and said he then struggled living without football.
After losing the “adrenaline” of playing the sport at the highest level, he told the Ben Heath Podcast that problems became “huge” and he turned to drugs for “escapism”.
“How do I deal with problems when I haven’t got football? Because problems when you play football aren’t problems,” he said, referring to issues such as bills and relationships.
“You’ve got the joy and adrenaline to keep you forward-thinking and energetic,” he said.
The ex-pro added: “When you’ve got issues, without football these issues become huge, they’re like mountains.
“When you were playing they were fine, because you had finances coming in, you also had support from everyone and anyone.”
He said that while he did not become an alcoholic, he had a bad year with drugs.
“I had a spell on cocaine and smoking some weed, and the drink… I could live without it,” he said.
He said he was addicted to cocaine “for a while”, adding: “I got to the point where I didn’t think I could do things without it, which was nonsense, of course I could.”
Murphy now works as a regular pundit for BBC Sport, including on highlights show Match Of The Day.
He said his media work had helped but did not give him the same “high” as playing professional football.
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Murphy also said he was “amazed” by the number of ex-players who have reached out to him with their own struggles after retiring from the game.
He said therapy helped him to overcome his addiction and believes his experiences had made him a better son, father and partner.
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“Therapy was good… you’ve got to be prepared to go deep and not everyone is, because you’ve got to be in for an emotional rollercoaster in therapy,” he said.
Murphy added that after “a year of being in a world of pain”, he now realised how lucky he was not to have suffered for longer after speaking with others who had also struggled with drug addictions.
