Are you 24 or older?

Help us verify your age by providing an honest response. This site contains gambling advertising for 24+.

Age-restricted content

You’re not old enough to view betting content. You’ll be redirected to the homepage.

alt
Live£50

This page contains affiliate links. When you purchase through the links provided, we may earn a commission.

+18 | Commercial Content | T&C's Apply | Play Responsibly | Publishing Principles
Explore Betting on GOAL
Danny MurphyGetty
Peter Fitzpatrick

Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy opens up on cocaine addiction and how he experienced a ‘year of pain’

Liverpool
Premier League
Fulham
England

Ex-Liverpool star Danny Murphy has revealed he fell into cocaine addiction after retiring, and experienced a "year of hell" before seeking help.

TV & Broadband Bundles
Virgin Media

Virgin Media

✅ Combines superfast home broadband and live Premier League broadcasting into a single household bill.

✅ Allows you to bolt TNT Sports onto an existing TV package on a 31-day rolling basis for around £25 a month.

✅ Broadband-only customers can use the free Stream box to add and drop the Sky Sports HD pack on a 30-day rolling basis.

Monthly from£52.99
Flexible Sport Add-Ons
EE Logo

EE

✅ The "Sport Plus" tier bundles both Sky Sports (via NOW) and TNT Sports into one seamless package to cover all 267 televised matches.

✅ Allows you to upgrade or downgrade your TV tier each month without breaking your 24-month broadband contract.

✅ Includes the Apple TV 4K or EE TV Box Pro for high-end viewing and easy multi-room streaming setups.

Monthly from£25
Min. 215 Live Games
Sky Sports logo

Sky Sports

✅ Broadcasts at least 215 live Premier League matches per season

✅ Marquee slots including Friday nights, Saturday evenings, all Sunday matches and Monday Night Football

✅ Exclusive broadcaster of all 10 final day matches

 

Monthly from£35
TNT Sport Access
HBO Max

HBO Max

✅ Streams all 52 TNT Sports matches, making it the exclusive home for the early 12:30 pm Saturday fixtures.

✅ Provides exclusive coverage of select full midweek matchdays.

✅ Combines live Premier League football with premium HBO shows and Warner Bros movies in a single app ecosystem.

Monthly from£25.99
Flexible Viewing
NOW TV

NOW

✅ Streams the entire Sky Sports Premier League catalogue over the internet to smart TVs and mobile devices without a satellite dish or installation wait.

✅ Offers 31-day rolling contracts (for £34.99/month) so you can cancel during the summer off-season.

✅ Offers 24-hour Day Memberships for £14.99 if you only want to watch a single specific derby or match.
Monthly from£27.99
TV & Broadband Bundles
Virgin Media

Virgin Media

✅ Combines superfast home broadband and live Premier League broadcasting into a single household bill.

✅ Allows you to bolt TNT Sports onto an existing TV package on a 31-day rolling basis for around £25 a month.

✅ Broadband-only customers can use the free Stream box to add and drop the Sky Sports HD pack on a 30-day rolling basis.

Monthly from£52.99
Flexible Sport Add-Ons
EE Logo

EE

✅ The "Sport Plus" tier bundles both Sky Sports (via NOW) and TNT Sports into one seamless package to cover all 267 televised matches.

✅ Allows you to upgrade or downgrade your TV tier each month without breaking your 24-month broadband contract.

✅ Includes the Apple TV 4K or EE TV Box Pro for high-end viewing and easy multi-room streaming setups.

Monthly from£25

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

  • Murphy was on the Ben Heath podcast

  • Opened up on addiction issues

  • Therapy helped his recovery
  • Danny Murphy 2015Getty

    WHAT HAPPENED?

    Murphy revealed he turned to cocaine and cannabis after retiring as a player in 2013. The former Liverpool and England midfielder, who is now a respected pundit, said he experienced a "year of hell" before seeking both individual and group therapy.

  • THE BIGGER PICTURE

    Murphy, who also played for Tottenham and Fulham among other sides, said he never had an issue with alcohol but that his cocaine addiction led to him thinking he could not do things without it. The 47-year-old also detailed how his drug use spiralled from once or twice a week to three times and more.

  • WHAT MURPHY SAID

    Speaking on the Ben Heath podcast, Murphy said: "For a while, I was [addicted to cocaine], because I got to the point where I didn't feel like I could do things without it, which was nonsense, of course I could. I did a bit of both (therapy and group sessions to get help). I had done therapy previously before I had any problems actually when I first stopped playing because I thought it would be beneficial but I didn't stick it out, which I maybe should have done.

    "There are guys that I have met who have had a lifetime of trauma because of certain addictions and stuff. I probably had a year of being in a world of pain and they kind of look at me and go, 'You know what you should be really grateful you have only had a year'. And I'm like, 'I'll listen to that I'll take the good.'"

    • ENJOYED THIS STORY?

    Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

    Follow GOAL on Google
  • Murphy-LiverpoolGetty

    DID YOU KNOW?

    Murphy, who made nine appearances for England, was known for his big goals at Liverpool. Over the course of four seasons from 2000-01 to 2003-04, he scored three winners in 1-0 victories for Liverpool against Manchester United at Old Trafford. The first got him recognised from some unlikely fans.