Ex-Premier League star opens up on ‘damaging’ cocaine addiction | Football | Sport

Former Newcastle United defender Daryl Janmaat has opened up about the “damage” a cocaine addiction inflicted on his life after hanging up his boots. Janmaat played in England’s top division for Newcastle United and Watford during his career, alongside several seasons in the Netherlands. The 36-year-old, who represented the Netherlands on 34 occasions, spent two seasons at Newcastle before transferring to Watford in 2016.

Janmaat ultimately departed Vicarage Road in 2020 to return home with ADO Den Haag, who currently play in Dutch football’s second tier. After retiring from the professional game in 2022, Janmaat took up a position as technical manager at ADO Den Haag, reports the Mirror. The ex-Premier League player has now spoken frankly in an interview about the “damage” his cocaine addiction caused.

“I have three children who also hear and read things,” Janmaat told Dutch newspaper AD. “I can’t and don’t want to go into all the details, but my cocaine addiction has caused a lot of damage.”

The former Newcastle player describes how his struggles commenced following the conclusion of his professional football career, which ended after the ex-defender sustained a knee injury. “I was supposed to get help from everyone and everything, but I was left to fend for myself. It was nothing,” Janmaat added.

“Suddenly, I lost the structure I’d had for years as a footballer. That was difficult. The cocaine addiction gradually crept in. You start lying to the people you love. That’s terrible; I hurt a lot of people. The problems only started after I retired. As a player, everything is manageable: you go from training to training. From match to match. When all that disappeared and I felt completely out of place as technical manager at ADO, things went wrong. Very much so.”

Janmaat has also revealed how the addiction affected his family life. “I’m still officially married, but we’re no longer together,” he explained. “The relationship wasn’t going well, you know, but the addiction obviously didn’t help. A lot of damage has been done, although we’re on good terms again.”

The Dutchman currently operates his own fitness enterprise in Scheveningen called High Power Gym, and has disclosed how he succeeded in overcoming being in a ‘really, really bad’ situation to transform his life.

“Cocaine destroys a lot. My family and friends were there for me, but I let a lot of people down,” Janmaat acknowledged. “You start lying and distorting things. That’s exhausting, but above all, very painful. Was it life-threatening? Well, I was in deep, very deep. There were times when I was really, really bad, let’s just say that.

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“I had everything as a player, and I still do, actually. But a lot has happened in the meantime. Too much. Addiction is truly a battle, where you’re at your wits’ end. Literally. You’re in a struggle; it really destroys a lot. In a clinic like that, you have therapy and counselling. After that, I went in a different direction. Yes, the right direction. Fortunately.”