Former Newcastle United and Watford FC defender Daryl Janmaat has delivered a deeply personal admission, revealing his battle with cocaine addiction and the impact it has had on his family life following retirement from professional football.
The 36-year-old, who earned 34 caps for the Netherlands and featured in the 2014 World Cup campaign that saw the Dutch reach the semi-finals, admitted that struggling to adjust after his playing career ended in 2022 led him down a destructive path.
Janmaat made 77 appearances across two seasons at Newcastle between 2014 and 2016 before spending four years in the Premier League with Watford.
He eventually brought the curtain down on his career at ADO Den Haag, the club where his journey began.However, the transition away from the pitch proved far more challenging than anticipated.
Speaking to Dutch newspaper AD, Janmaat detailed how injury and the abrupt end of his career left him without direction.
“I have three children who also hear and read things,” Janmaat 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.”
The former full-back explained that moving into a technical director role at ADO Den Haag did little to stabilise him, as the structure he had relied on for years suddenly disappeared.
“I was supposed to get help from everyone and everything, but I was left to fend for myself.
“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 also acknowledged that the addiction contributed to the breakdown of his marriage to his wife Yoshi.
He added: “I am still officially married, but we are no longer together. 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.”
The candid revelations come ahead of Janmaat’s appearance in the documentary ‘Real Men Don’t Cry’, which explores the mental health challenges faced by former elite athletes.
At present, he has stepped away from football and is focusing on a new chapter, having opened his own gym.
Janmaat’s story highlights the often-overlooked struggles players can face once the final whistle blows on their careers: a reminder that life after football can be just as demanding as the game itself.
Toosin is a dedicated sports writer with a strong background in crafting engaging and insightful content. With experience at Goal, he has developed a sharp editorial sense and a refined storytelling approach that brings depth and perspective to sports journalism. His passion for the game goes beyond the headlines, as he captures both the excitement of the sport and the compelling human narratives behind each event. Toosin’s work resonates with a broad and diverse audience, making global sports stories accessible, relatable, and impactful.
