Daryl Janmaat has opened up about the 'damage' caused by a cocaine addiction after retiring from professional football
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| Daryl Janmaat admitted he turned to drugs after hanging up his boots(Image: PA) |
Former Newcastle United defender Daryl Janmaat has opened up about the 'damage' a cocaine addiction inflicted on his life after his professional football career came to an end. Janmaat made his mark in the English top flight with both Newcastle and Watford during his playing days, whilst also spending a considerable period in the Netherlands.
The 36-year-old, who accumulated 34 caps for the Dutch national side throughout his career, spent two years at Newcastle before making the switch to Watford in 2016. Janmaat eventually departed Vicarage Road in 2020 to head back to his home country with ADO Den Haag, a club that now competes in the second tier of Dutch football.
Following his retirement from professional football in 2022, Janmaat went on to take up a role as technical manager at ADO Den Haag. The former Premier League ace has now spoken openly in an interview about the "damage" wrought by a cocaine addiction, as per the Mirror.
"I have three children who also hear and read things," Janmaat said, via 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 Premier League star recounts how the conclusion of his professional football career, which came about after the ex-defender sustained a knee injury, was when his troubles began.
"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.
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| Janmaat’s life changed dramatically after retirement(Image: PA) |
"When all that disappeared and I felt completely out of place as technical manager at ADO, things went wrong. Very much so."
Janmaat also spoke candidly about how the addiction has affected his personal life. "I'm still officially married, but we're no longer together," he stated.
"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."
Janmaat now operates his own gym business in Scheveningen called High Power Gym, and has revealed how he managed to overcome being in a 'really, really bad' place 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 admitted. "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. 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."
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