Ross Barkley turned his back on alcohol after some difficult moments, including when Frank Lampard made him travel to France to watch a Chelsea game from a bus.
Ross Barkley is sober and plans to stay away from alcohol for the rest of his career after revealing how it affected his career.
The Aston Villa star started out at Everton as a teenager and has since gone on to play for a number of big clubs in the Premier League, including Chelsea. Barkley drank at times in his life and played for the Blues under a number of different managers. Looking back, he admits it “created a situation that I really didn’t want to happen” and now has a clear head.
He recalled a time when a drinking session in Liverpool went south, was videotaped and later ended up in the newspapers for the wrong reasons. Frank Lampard was in the hotseat at Stamford Bridge and gave honest advice, but Barkley was still being punished for his actions.
The Blues legend told him this was a lesson to be learned, but he still didn’t even include him in the squad and sent him on a trip to Lille for a Champions League match. Instead, Barkley had to watch the game apart from the group at the direction of his team coach.
“I went out a few times, but if I drank too much I would regret it. Sometimes I would go out and drink too much and it would come back to the club. One time I was out on a Sunday at Liverpool and there was a game on the Wednesday. It was videotaped and it was in the newspaper.”
read more: Alan Shearer rules Liverpool out of title contention – ‘all over the place’read more: Manchester United focus on Koby Mainu’s replacement, possibility of transfer next step
“We (Chelsea) had an away game (against Lille) in France and Frank Lampard was the manager. He couldn’t say too much to me other than learn from it and choose at the right time, because he knew what it was like when he was young.
“But the punishment was that I accompanied the team but wasn’t on the bench. I had to watch the game accompanied by the coach. That was tough to accept. That was probably the one incident that created the awareness.”
Now a father, Barkley, who claims he has “taken on more responsibility”, expected to be at the top when he first appeared on the scene at Everton. Although his progress stalled, he was eager to talk to his therapist, reflect on his experiences, and learn from them.
“People make mistakes. It’s good to talk to people and learn from your mistakes. It’s also good to understand that difficulties continue throughout life. Sometimes people struggle with their mental health, but it’s good to talk to people. I talked to people and it helped me. I talked to a sports psychologist. I’ve had therapy throughout my career and it’s been helpful.”
Barkley is in the middle of his second stint at Villa Park. He spent a year on loan in France with Lille before returning home to play for Luton. Unai Emery then opted to bring him back to Villa’s side.
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive Mirror Football content every day. Community members also receive special offers, promotions, and advertisements from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can always check out. If you are interested, please read our privacy notice.
Sky Sports Premier League and EFL package discounts
£49
£35
sky
Get the deal here
Sky has reduced the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £336 on their bill and offering more than 1,400 live matches from Premier League, EFL and more.
Sky will broadcast at least 215 live Premier League matches next season, with an increase of up to 100 more.
