Former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock has revealed he contemplated taking his own life after struggling with retirement from football.
Warnock made over 550 appearances during his Career after breaking through at Liverpool, with the left back representing 10 clubs and earning two England caps.
The 42-year-old, who was part of Three Lions squad for the 2010 World Cup, admitted to Sky Sports he had fallen out of love with the game in final years of his career.
Warnock said he had felt ‘like a failure’ by the time of his retirement in 2018, after growing frustrated by dropping down levels.
The former defender turned pundit said he struggled to find a buzz after retirement, with financial pressure caused by an ‘ill advised’ investment from a financial advisor contributing to him feeling ‘massively depressed for years’.
Stephen Warnock revealed he contemplated taking his own life after retiring from football
Warnock began his career at Liverpool and played for 16 seasons at 10 different clubs
The full back admitted feeling ‘like a failure’ after dropping down levels during his career
‘I looked back on my career and thought I was a failure. I thought I’d had a terrible career,’ Warnock told Sky Sports.
‘Going to Liverpool, then going to Blackburn, to Aston Villa, then to Leeds and I just continued to go down. I always remember thinking I’d let myself down there.
‘After you retire, I think people come out [of football] and just think life’s going to be okay. But it’s about what’s going to give you that buzz, what’s going to give you that excitement in your life. If you find that quickly, you’re okay – but you’ve got to find it.’
Warnock added that he had lost his marriage and only brief contact with his children around the time of his retirement.
He credited a conversation with an old friend, who was training to be a counsellor, for helping him out of a ‘rut’.
‘I’d contemplated taking my own life at one stage. I was in so much of a rut, I just thought I was done until I phoned him. I tell him all the time he saved my life,’ Warnock said.
The former England international credited a friend, who was training to be a counsellor, with helping to ‘save his life’
Warnock has become a regular pundit on radio and television since retiring from football
‘Then I started engaging more with my kids, they could notice a difference in me, and I started to get a sense of looking back on my career and not being disappointed in it. It put a positive spin on it, made me realised what I’d achieved in my career.’
Warnock had begun his career at Liverpool and was part of their UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup winning squads in 2005.
The full back was a League Cup runner-up with Aston Villa in 2010, while he won League One with Wigan in 2016.
Following his retirement at 35 in 2018, Warnock has become a regular pundit on television and radio.
For support call Samaritans on 116123 in the UK or visit www.samaritans.org or www.thecalmzone.net/get-support, or call the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline on 988 in the US.
