Former Liverpool legendary midfielder Danny Murphy has made a shocking revelation about his cocaine addiction.
Following his retirement from football, the 47-year-old Murphy has revealed that he battled with a cocaine addiction during the early stages of his retirement.
Despite his successful career with teams like Liverpool, Charlton, Tottenham, and Fulham in the Premier League, as well as earning nine caps for England, Murphy faced challenges in his post-football life.
Since stepping away from the field after his time with Blackburn Rovers in 2013, he has transitioned into a successful pundit role, appearing on Match of the Day and writing as a columnist for Mail Sport.
However, Murphy has bravely shared his struggle with substance abuse during his early retirement, admitting to using drugs as a form of escapism from reality and the problems he was facing.
In a talk show with Ben Heath Podcast, Murphy said: ”I initially dabbled in certain things to get the odd buzz and high.”
”I think it was an accumulation of things so I needed some escapism from reality. And the reality was facing up to problems.”
After retiring from football, the former Liverpool legend opened up about the difficult situations he faced, including financial struggles, tax obligations, and relationship problems.
He added: ”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 to 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.”
Following his courageous confession, Murphy elaborated on how attending both individual and group therapy sessions, combined with his newfound passion for punditry, ultimately led to him overcoming his struggles.
He continued: ”You get some help and start understanding behaviors 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.”
Furthermore, Murphy highlighted how connecting with others who shared his struggles helped him shed feelings of shame and guilt, allowing him to move forward with a renewed sense of self-acceptance and understanding.
Murphy continued: ”I probably had a year of being in a world of pain. The journey is never smooth but I 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.”
”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.
As he mulled over the widely publicized challenges faced by retired players, Murphy maintained that there is always a solution to overcome them.
He stated: ”It’s really common for ex-players to have issues like this. I was amazed at how many reached out to me. I’ve lost the fear of talking about it and people judging me now.”
”I’ve seen it first hand, guys who have 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.”
Who is Danny Murphy?
Daniel Ben Murphy is a former professional English footballer who specialized as a midfielder. He was born on 18 March 1977(currently 47 years old).
Murphy started his professional career with Crewe Alexandra in 1993 before transferring to Liverpool in 1997.
During his time at Liverpool, he achieved great success by winning the League Cup, FA Cup, and UEFA Cup.
Following stints at Charlton Athletic and Tottenham Hotspur, Murphy moved to Fulham where he played a key role in reaching the final of the 2010 UEFA Europa League.
The 47-year-old concluded his career at Blackburn Rovers, where he also held the position of captain.
At the national level, Murphy made nine appearances for the England national team after his debut in 2001, scoring once.
