Daryl Janmaat, who played for Newcastle and Watford during his career, has spoken openly about the ‘damage’ caused by a cocaine addiction
Former Premier League defender Daryl Janmaat has revealed the “damage” a cocaine addiction caused his life following his career as a professional footballer.
Janmaat featured in the English top flight with Newcastle United and Watford during his playing career, whilst also spending several years in the Netherlands.
The 36-year-old, who earned 34 caps for the Netherlands national team throughout his career, spent two years at Newcastle before moving to Watford in 2016.
Janmaat eventually left Vicarage Road in 2020 to return to his homeland with ADO Den Haag, who now compete in the second tier of Dutch football.
Following his retirement from professional football in 2022, Janmaat went on to become a technical manager at ADO Den Haag, reports the Mirror.
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The former Premier League star has now spoken candidly in an interview about the “damage” caused by a cocaine addiction.
“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 Newcastle star describes how the end of his professional football career, which happened after the ex-defender suffered a knee injury, was where the struggles began.
“I was supposed to get help from everyone and everything, but I was left to fend for myself. It was nothing,” Janmaat says.
“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.”
He continued: “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 also opened up about how the addiction has impacted his personal life. “I’m still officially married, but we’re no longer together,” he said.
“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 runs his own gym business in Scheveningen named High Power Gym, and has shared how he managed to overcome being in a “really, really bad” place to turn his life around.
“Cocaine destroys a lot. My family and friends were there for me, but I let a lot of people down,” Janmaat admits. “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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