5 players who ruined their career with substance abuse

Unlike some other sports – cycling, MMA and athletics to name three – football doesn’t really have a drug problem. It’s most likely down to the fact that as a team sport, PEDs wouldn’t have too much effect unless a whole team were using, and as we’ve seen with Russia’s Euro 2016 campaign – allegedly – even when they are used, they don’t necessarily make a difference.

That isn’t to say that a handful of players haven’t had a problem with drugs – including the most commonly abused drug of them all, alcohol. While they haven’t really been of the PED type, more of the recreational type, some players have completely damaged or outright ruined their careers with their use. Here are five of the most prevalent.

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#5 Mark Bosnich

Despite some heavily controversial moments – including a weird foul on Jurgen Klinsmann that more closely resembled a flying knee straight out of the UFC, and an incident that saw him land in hot water for taunting Tottenham fans with a Nazi salute – Australian goalkeeper Bosnich was recognised during the mid 1990s as one of the best goalies in the Premier League. Making a name for himself at Aston Villa as a penalty-saving expert, Bosnich helped the side win the League Cup in both 1993/94 and 1995/96.

A move to Manchester United in the summer of 1999 followed, and Bosnich was supposed to be the successor to the great Peter Schmeichel. Despite a good first season – Bosnich played the majority of United’s games in 1999/00 as they romped to the Premier League title – things soon went sour as the Aussie piled on weight and was dropped in favour of new signing Fabien Barthez.

Eventually, Bosnich moved on a free transfer to Chelsea in January 2001, and really he should still have been at his prime given he was just 29, still young for a keeper.

Problems with his fitness meant he was out until 2001/02, though, and then it happened – Bosnich tested positive for cocaine and was banned for nine months and fired by Chelsea. From there, the Australian spiralled out of control and became a recluse, completely addicted to cocaine to the point where he was spending around £5k a week on the drug.

Bosnich spent five years in the grip of cocaine and it basically ended his playing career, as he only played a further twelve professional games before retiring. In the end, it was a complete waste of a pretty great talent.

#4 Adrian Mutu

Adrian Mutu was fired by Chelsea after testing positive for cocaine

Another player whose career was curtailed by cocaine use, Romanian striker Adrian Mutu made his name at home with Dinamo Bucharest, scoring 22 goals in 33 games before making a move to Italy with Inter Milan.

That move didn’t really work out but he hit form with Parma, scoring 18 goals in 32 games, and then made a big move to Chelsea for around £16m in August 2003 as part of new owner Roman Abramovich’s initial spending spree.

Mutu had a solid 2003/04, but when Jose Mourinho took over Chelsea for 2004/05, he fell out of favour and ended up torpedoing his own Blues career when he tested positive for cocaine in September 2004. After the Romanian essentially admitted to playing whilst under the influence, he was fired by Chelsea and ended up being banned for seven months.

Despite this, Italian clubs were still willing to give him an opportunity and so he moved to Juventus, and then to Fiorentina when the ‘Old Lady’ were relegated due to 2006’s Calciopoli scandal.

Mutu proved to be a hit at Fiorentina, but it turned out he was still a ticking time bomb, as he was busted for another doping offence in 2010, this time for using a banned stimulant. This earned him another six-month ban, and while he did return to football, his career became meandering and he was never the same player as he’d been prior to all of the scandals.

#3 Paul Gascoigne

Paul Gascoigne battled substance abuse for years

Arguably the most naturally talented player ever produced by England, Paul Gascoigne had the world at his feet after an outstanding World Cup 1990 campaign and despite suffering a serious knee injury in the 1991 FA Cup final, Italian side Lazio were still willing to part with big money to bring him to Rome from Tottenham.

A further knee injury – caused while in a nightclub – sidelined him until the 1992/93 season, though, foreshadowing what would happen to him later in his career.

Despite some great performances for Lazio and then for Rangers after his move to Scotland in the summer of 1995, off the field, Gascoigne’s personal life was spiralling completely out of control due to his addictive personality and his use of alcohol.

He went into the Euro 1996 tournament with England surrounded by controversy due to his drunken antics prior to the opening match, and despite performing tremendously there, he was dropped from England’s subsequent 1998 World Cup squad due to being unable to curtail his drinking.

That incident basically ended his career at the top level and although he initially remained active with Middlesbrough and then Everton, he also spent stints in rehab, continued to struggle with both alcohol and drug addictions, and suffered bouts of mental illness too. Gascoigne was basically retired by the age of 34 – his career totally ruined by his substance abuse – and he continues to grapple with his demons to this day.

#2 George Best

George Best's alcohol issues curtailed his brilliant career

It’s almost hard to claim that George Best’s alcohol issues ruined his career, as nobody could ever label the maverick Irishman as a failure – he won the old equivalent of the Champions League with Manchester United in 1968 – the same year that he captured the Ballon d’Or – and won the old First Division title with United in 1964/65 and 1967/68. He’s also widely recognised as one of the greatest players of all time – some would even say the most naturally talented player ever.

But what could have been had he not had his issues with alcohol? It’s been claimed that Best was basically a functioning alcoholic for the majority of his adult life, which means he was likely even suffering during his peak years at Manchester United.

Best spent eleven seasons at Old Trafford, but in reality, he peaked in the late 1960’s, when he was just in his early 20s. By 1974 – at the age of 28 – his top-level career was largely over, primarily due to his off-field antics.

Had he been able to keep himself clean, who knows what he could’ve achieved? His natural talent seemed to know no limits – older fans still talk about him in awe today, and he retired in 1984 – way past his prime, but still only 37.

Had he been fit, he could easily have played for Northern Ireland in the 1982 World Cup and perhaps inspired them to go further into the tournament. As it was, his alcohol abuse meant that he only achieved a fraction of what he was capable of, and even more tragically, it also led him to pass away at the painfully young age of just 59.

#1 Diego Maradona

Diego Maradona could've been even better had he avoided drugs

Another one of the greatest players of all time, Diego Maradona is another player who it’s hard to label as a failure. El Diego, of course, dragged a relatively average Argentina side to victory in the 1986 World Cup and almost repeated the feat in 1990, reaching the final where they were narrowly beaten by West Germany.

At club level he also saw monstrous success, winning both Serie A twice and the UEFA Cup while playing for Napoli. In 2000 he was even voted FIFA’s Player of the Century.

Unfortunately, though, the Argentine genius suffered from major issues with drugs throughout his career, beginning in the mid-1980s. Maradona became addicted to cocaine while playing for Barcelona in 1983, and while he was somehow able to keep playing at a remarkably high level – the best in the world – for the majority of his time using the drug, by the early 1990s he was having major problems.

It all came to a head when he tested positive for cocaine in March 1991, and was banned for 15 months. This led to him leaving Napoli in disgrace and heading back to Argentina.

By the time the 1994 World Cup rolled around though, Maradona had begun a career renaissance in his early 30s. Unfortunately, it was all built on a lie. His skills helped to tear Greece apart in a World Cup group game, but post-match saw him test positive again, this time for the banned stimulant ephedrine. Maradona was sent home from the World Cup in disgrace and his career was essentially ended.

Despite all he did achieve in the game, Maradona himself has stated that he could’ve been even greater had he not become involved with cocaine, which is in itself a scary thought.