According to the Daily Mail, former Liverpool midfielder Jonjo Shelvey has spoken about his dependence on sleeping pills and his difficult experience playing in Turkey.

The 34-year-old former midfielder for Liverpool and Swansea City has retired and is now head coach of Arabian Falcons, a team in the UAE's second division.

Shelvey, known for his unpredictable playing style that featured both brilliant performances and costly errors, reflected on the challenges he faced after leaving the pitch.

After transferring from Nottingham Forest to Rizespor in 2023, Shelvey struggled to adapt to life in a Muslim-majority country. He told FourFourTwo: "It's very Islam-based, there's nothing else to do, you can't go out, there's no alcohol. You stay at the training ground and on match day, you play."

Shelvey also mentioned that salary problems were another issue. He said: "A problem there can be with payment, because some clubs pay on time, but others don't pay foreign players on time. Instead, they give you cash, but you can't take that money out of the country."

Shelvey explained how he developed a dependence on sleeping pills: "At my second club, I felt I only had two options: either go to a pub and drink five or six pints of beer, or go home and take a sleeping pill to sleep. I could sleep with one pill, but the next day, one wasn't enough because I'd developed a tolerance.

"For a while, I was taking six or seven pills every night to get to sleep. I was addicted. Fortunately, I then left Turkey to go to Burnley, where I got the help I needed and came off the medication."

Earlier this year, Shelvey revealed that this dependence had damaged his relationship with his three children. He eventually overcame the habit with help from his wife, Daisy.

Shelvey spoke about his life in Istanbul on the podcast "Under The Cosh": "Istanbul is a more vibrant city. You can go out... but I was still there alone. I'm not the type of person who goes out alone; I hate being alone.

"I thought at the time, if I have to find a way to pass the time, I'll drink. Drinking isn't good for footballers, it's not a good method. But I thought, instead of drinking, I'd continue taking sleeping pills to pass the time.

"You know what I mean? I didn't want to get fat drinking beer in a pub, so I'd go back to the apartment, train, and take sleeping pills."

Speaking about his routine, Shelvey said: "I'd get home at 1:00, 1:30 or 3:00, eat something, and that would be my last meal of the day. Then I'd take three or four sleeping pills, wake up around midnight and take another three or four. The next day, I'd carry on training. Honestly, it wrecked my relationship with my kids."

Shelvey has now overcome the habit. After a brief spell at Burnley, he joined Arabian Falcons in September last year. After playing one season, he decided to hang up his boots and take on the role of head coach. Former Manchester United player Ravel Morrison is under his command, while former Leicester City player Danny Simpson serves as a player-coach and academy director.

Traduzido por IA.

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