Emotional confession

Ex-Liverpool player: cocaine addiction after retirement

Danny Murphy (center) played for Liverpool FC from 1997 to 2004.(Bild: APA/AFP/Christophe SIMON)

Emotional confession from Danny Murphy: The former Liverpool player has revealed that he suffered from a cocaine addiction after his retirement. In the end, therapy and working with the media helped him to find a purpose in life again.

The 47-year-old Murphy can look back on an impressive career. In the Premier League, he played for Liverpool, Charlton, Tottenham and Fulham. He also played nine games for the England national team. In 2013, he hung up his soccer boots. "Initially I dabbled in certain things to get a buzz," he describes in the "Ben Heath Podcast". "I think it was an accumulation of things that I needed to escape reality. And the reality was to face the problems."

Danny Murphy in the England national team jersey(Bild: AFP)

Before that, sport had always helped him. "When you play soccer, the adrenaline and dopamine keep you looking forward and full of energy, regardless of the other problems. Without soccer, those problems become huge," Murphy explains. "I did cocaine for a while and smoked some weed. I could do without the alcohol." And he admits: "I was a cocaine addict for a while, yes. I got to the point where I thought I couldn't do without cocaine. Which was nonsense, of course I could."

Video: Murpy's drug confession from minute 57:00

Now a "better person"
 Attending individual and group therapy sessions and finding a job in journalism ultimately helped him overcome his problems. "You get help and start to understand behaviors and patterns. When I got help, I surrounded myself with people who had been through it," Murphy said. "Not everyone is ready for that, especially when you've been through a traumatic life. And it's made me a better person."