Former Newcastle and Watford defender Daryl Janmaat has revealed he has been battling a cocaine addiction, which contributed to the breakdown of his marriage.
Janmaat made 77 appearances during two seasons at Newcastle between 2014 and 2016, before the Dutch full back spent four years playing for Watford.
The peak of his career came when Janmaat was part of the Dutch side that reached the World Cup semi-finals in 2014, before suffering defeat on penalties to the Netherlands.
The 34-cap international brought his career to an end in 2022 at ADO Den Haag, the same Dutch club where he had made his breakthrough.
A year later, Janmaat was reported to have been found under the influence of drugs in Scheveningen, a district in The Hague. He was then reported to have entered rehab in South Africa.
Speaking to Dutch newspaper AD, Janmaat explained that he had become addicted to cocaine having struggled to come to terms with retirement from the game.
Former Newcastle defender Daryl Janmaat has revealed the damaging impact of a cocaine addiction
‘I have three children who also hear and read things,’ Janmaat, 36, said.
‘I cannot and do not want to mention all the details, but my cocaine addiction has caused a lot of misery. I wanted to so much, but a knee injury threw a spanner in the works.
‘That knee was huge, after an injection, it went wrong. The joint became infected due to the wrong needle. My career was over, I couldn’t handle that.’
Janmaat reflected that transitioning from a player to a technical director at ADO Den Haag had made his situation worse.
‘I was supposed to get help from everyone and everything, but I was left to fend for myself,’ Janmaat said.
‘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.’
Janmaat, who also represented Heerenveen and Feyenoord during his career, admitted the addiction had played a part in the breakdown of his marriage to his wife Yoshi.
Janmaat admitted his marriage to his wife Yoshi, left, is over with his addiction having been a major contributing factor
‘I am still officially married, but we are no longer together,’ Janmaat added. ‘The relationship wasn’t going well anyway, but that addiction obviously didn’t help.
‘A lot has been damaged, although we are getting on well again. It was cocaine, not something else. Not drink either. It can happen to anyone, I think. I never thought I could become addicted.’
Janmaat made the comments ahead of appearing in a documentary titled ‘Real Men Don’t Cry’, with former Aston Villa defender Ron Vlaar among ex-players to discuss the impact of elite sport on mental health.
Janmaat has admitted he is unlikely to return to a role in football at this stage, with the former Premier League star having opened his own gym.
