Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy has revealed he battled a cocaine addiction after retiring from football. Murphy, now 47, joined the Reds in 1997 after arriving from Crewe Alexandra.
He spent seven seasons at Anfield and was part of the side that won the treble under Gerard Houllier in 2000/01. He also won the club’s Player of the Year prize in 2002/03 but just 12 months later, he found himself out of favor under new boss Rafael Benítez.
Murphy joined fellow Premier League side Charlton and also had spells with Tottenham, Fulham and Blackburn before calling time on his career in 2013. He says he struggled to adapt to his new life after retiring and found himself turning to drugs.
Murphy, who is now a successful pundit with the BBC, has opened up on his problems following his father’s death, including losing millions of his earnings. “I could live without drink but for a while, I was addicted to cocaine,” he told the Ben Heath podcast.
“I got to the point where I didn’t think I could do things without it. Like any drug or addiction, you manage it initially and it quickly spirals. When I got help, I put myself around people who had been through it.
“I used to think that you would have to have a weak mentality and be an idiot, to fall into drink and drugs, or gambling. I used to think ‘I will never be you’, when I saw people in real trouble. And then I was that person. I initially dabbled in certain things to get the odd buzz and high. I needed some escapism from reality and reality was facing up to problems. I didn’t know how to deal with these problems without football.”
Murphy also reflected on his Liverpool exit after being told he had no future at the club following Benítez’s arrival. He admits his departure in the summer of 2004 remains a big regret. He added: “I should have waited but was made to feel that I had to go.
“I hated Rafa at the time but he was honest. He brought in Xabi Alonso and Luis García and said to me that I wasn’t going to play. There were clubs in for me but I should have stayed. It might have been a mistake but when I look back, I should have took the risk.”
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