Danny Murphy has revealed he suffered with a cocaine addiction after retiring from football.
Murphy, 47, enjoyed an impressive Premier League career, playing for the likes of Liverpool, Charlton, Tottenham and Fulham in the top flight, while he also won nine caps for England.
After ending his career with Blackburn Rovers in the Championship in 2013, the former midfielder has since moved into punditry, regularly impressing on Match of the Day and he is also a Mail Sport columnist.
However, Murphy has heartbreakingly opened up on his struggles during the early stages of retirement.
‘I initially dabbled in certain things to get the odd buzz and high,’ he told the Ben Heath Podcast. ‘I think it was an accumulation of things so I needed some escapism from reality. And reality was facing up to problems.
Danny Murphy has revealed he suffered with a cocaine addiction after retiring from the game
Murphy, 47, enjoyed an impressive Premier League career, playing for the likes of Liverpool
The former midfielder opened up on his post-career struggles on the Ben Heath podcast
‘This financial problem, tax bill, relationship. How do I deal with problems when I don’t play football?
‘When you play football, the adrenaline and dopamine keep you forward thinking and energetic, irrelevant of the other issues. These issues become huge without football.
‘I had a spell on cocaine and smoking some weed. The drink, I could live without it. I wasn’t an alcoholic. I could sit in a house with alcohol and not drink it.
‘For a while I was (addicted to cocaine), yeah. I got to the point where I thought I couldn’t do things without it. Which was nonsense, of course I could.
‘You manage it initially, you do it once a week, twice a week, do it an extra third day and eventually it builds up and grabs hold of you.’
After the brave confession, Murphy went onto explain how going to individual and group therapy, coupled with finding a purpose in punditry, helped him to overcome his problems.
He added: ‘You get some help and start understanding behaviours and patterns. When I got help, I put myself around people who have been through it. I did a bit of therapy and group work.
‘Therapy was good. You’ve got to be in, 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.
‘Not everyone is especially if you’ve had a traumatic life. And it’s (the whole process) made me a better person.’
Murphy added how speaking to those who have had experienced something similar helped him to ‘lose that shame and guilt’ associated with his problems.
Meanwhile, he also reflected on the well-publicised general struggles of players following retirement, but insisted there is always a way out.
‘I probably had a year of being in a world of pain,’ Murphy continued. ‘The journey is never smooth but I definitely think that year to 18 months from 2017, going through that has made me a much better dad.
‘I’m a better son, brother and I think I’ll be a better partner. I’m more considerate to those who have been struggling in life and I’ve got a desire to be better.
Murphy made 249 appearances for Liverpool over seven years after joining from Crewe in 1997 before going onto play for the likes of Charlton, Tottenham, Fulham and Blackburn Rovers
The former midfielder also won nine England caps across his impressive time in the game
Murphy explained how therapy, coupled with punditry, helped him to overcome his problems
‘When I started media I felt a sense of purpose because I wanted to be good at it but it wasn’t the same highs. Two or three years later it just hit me, with all the stuff going on as well.
‘It’s really common for ex-players to have issues like this. I was amazed how many reached out to me and I’ve lost the fear of talking about it and people judging me now.
‘I’ve seen it personal, guys who have really been in a bad place come through and thrive again. That takes something.
‘People have a lot of opinions on stuff this like this who haven’t been there, but sometimes you do need a bit of help and it’s alright to reach out if you do.’
