Former Liverpool star Danny Murphy opens up on cocaine addiction after retiring before finding his way as BBC pundit

DANNY MURPHY has opened up on suffering with a cocaine addiction after retiring from football.

The former Liverpool, Tottenham and England star, 47, hung up his boots after a stint with Blackburn in 2013.

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Murphy has gone on to become a successful pundit with the BBC and can regularly be seen on Match of the Day.

Immediately after ending his playing career, however, Murphy struggled with addiction.

Appearing on the , he bravely revealed: "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 reality was facing up to problems.

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"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.

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"You manage it initially, you do it once a week, twice a week, do it an extra third day and eventually it builds up.

"The escapism is what I was after and I got it for a while but then it grabs hold of you."

In addition to Match of the Day, Murphy has also worked as a pundit for talkSPORT.

After opening up on his cocaine battle, he spoke of how he went to therapy to combat his addiction.

He continued: "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.

'IT'S MADE ME A BETTER PERSON'

"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 made me a better person.

"It's made me a much better dad. I'm a better son, brother and I think I'll be a better partner and more considerate to those who have been struggling in life. I've got a desire to be better now."

In 2021, Murphy admitted that retirement hit him like a "sledgehammer".

He wrote in the : "I enjoyed the first couple of years after retirement in 2013, playing golf, doing media work and taking family holidays.

"But what happened afterwards hit me like a sledgehammer.

I indulged in drink, drugs and gambling

Danny Murphy

"The realisation I wouldn’t play football again, combined with the loss of most of my savings, left me suffering from depression, something I was in denial about at the time.

"During the dark days, which lasted 12 months, I indulged in drink, drugs and gambling.

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"My marriage broke down, I fell out with my brothers and friends and became really isolated.

"It was a horrendous place until a mix of professional therapy and support from loved ones helped me back."

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