"I was massively depressed for years" - Ex-Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock reveals he contemplated suicide after falling out of love with football
Former Liverpool star Stephen Warnock recently opened up about his struggles with depression and having suicidal thoughts after falling out of love with football. The left-back began his career in the Liverpool youth academy, before playing for the senior team between 2002 and 2007.
Speaking to Sky Sports in their Real Talk series, Warnock spoke about being "massively depressed" for a long time. Although the defender retired at 35, he claimed he "retired mentally" at 31.
"I was massively depressed for years. I retired at 35. I probably retired mentally at 31....I'd contemplated taking my own life at one stage," Stephen Warnock said.
Warnock went on to speak about the depession he felt playing in the lower leagues of English football.
"I felt like I was getting frustrated with football. I'd played in the Premier League, then you slowly start to drop down. It becomes difficult, and that may sound a bit elitist or snobby but I just lost the buzz for it. I felt I wasn't playing the way I wanted to, I wasn't dieting the way I should. I probably wasn't as focused as I was, because I couldn't get to the top again. I felt down, it depressed me."
Stephen Warnock made 67 appearances for the Reds and won the Champions League, the FA Cup, the League Cup and the European Super Cup with the club. Following his stint at Liverpool, the defender played for multiple Premier League clubs, including Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Leeds United and Derby County.
"I looked back on my career and thought I was a failure"- Former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock
On the same program, the former England international revealed that he felt he was a "failure" after looking back at his career.
"I looked back on my career and thought I was a failure. I thought I'd had a terrible career. 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," Warnock said.
Following his time at Liverpool's academy, Stephen Warnock had loan spells at Coventry City and Bradford City. He made his first-team debut for Liverpool against Grazer AK in 2004 and scored his only goal for the club against Fulham in 2006. He was sold to Blackburn Rovers for a reported fee of £1.5 million in 2007, before spells at Aston Villa and Leeds United.
As per Warnock, "ill advice" about a financial investment brought monetary strain on him. During that period, he went to training every day with barely three hours of sleep.
"I was going back into training every morning on maybe three hours' sleep. Head touches the pillow, and I'm constantly thinking about how I get out of this. I look back and think money's not everything," he said.
Fortunately, the former Liverpool defender is in a much better place today. He credits his counsellor friend, whom he met by chance at Liverpool Lime Street station, with saving his life.
"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,” Stephen Warnock admitted.