Former Newcastle United and Watford star Darryl Janmaat has opened up about his battle with cocaine addiction after retiring from professional football.
Darryl Janmaat playing for Newcastle (Image: Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
Former Premier League defender Darryl Janmaat has spoken of the “damage” his cocaine addiction has had on his life following his professional football career. Janmaat played in the English top flight with Newcastle United and Watford during his career, and also spent a number of years in the Netherlands.
The 36-year-old, who won 34 caps during his career with the Netherlands, spent two years at Newcastle before moving to Watford in 2016.
Janmaat eventually left Vicarage Road in 2020 and returned to his home country with ADO Den Haag, who currently play in the second tier of Dutch football.
After retiring from professional football in 2022, Janmaat became ADO Den Haag’s technical manager.
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The former Premier League star has opened up about the “damage” caused by his cocaine addiction in a candid interview.
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“I have three children who listen and read,” Janmaat told Dutch newspaper AD. “I can’t and don’t want to go into details, but my cocaine addiction took a huge toll.”
The former Newcastle star explained how his struggles began when the former defender was set to end his professional football career after sustaining a knee injury.
“I was supposed to get help from everyone, but I was left to fend for myself. There was nothing,” Janmaert says.
“Suddenly I lost the structure I had for years as a football player. It was difficult. The cocaine addiction slowly crept in. You start lying to the people you love. It’s terrible. I hurt a lot of people.”
“The problems started after I retired. As a player, everything is manageable. Training to training, match to match,” he continued.
“When that all went away and I felt completely out of place as a technical manager at ADO, things didn’t go well, and that’s exactly what happened.”
Daryl Janmaat plays for Watford (Image: Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Janmaat also revealed how this addition affected his personal life. “I’m still officially married, but we’re not together anymore,” he said.
“The relationship wasn’t working out, but the addiction obviously didn’t help. We got back on good terms, but it did a lot of damage.”
Janmaat, who now runs his own gym business in Scheveningen called High Power Gym, explained how he overcame being in a “really, really bad place” and turned his life around.
“Cocaine destroys a lot of things. My family and friends helped me, but I let a lot of people down,” Janmaat admits. “You start lying and distorting things. It’s exhausting, but most of all it’s very painful.
“Was it life-threatening? Well, I was in a very serious condition. There were times when I was really, really bad, I’ll tell you that.
“I had everything as a player and actually still do, but a lot has happened in between, too much.
“Addiction is really a battle, and that’s where you’re at your wits’ end. You’re literally in a battle. It really destroys a lot of things.
“In such clinics, you can get therapy and counseling. After that, I went in a different direction. Yes, in the right direction. Fortunately.”
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