FORMER Premier League star Claus Lundekvam has revealed how he booked a one-way plane ticket to Brazil after planning to “drink himself to death.”
Ex-Southampton defender Lundekvam spiralled into booze and drug addiction after retiring in 2008.
The Norwegian ace, now 43, said: “My wife left me along with our two little girls and I was left alone in a big house so I told myself I was going to drink myself to death.
“That was my destiny.
“At least that is how it felt. I was so low, I just accepted it. I booked a one-way ticket to Rio and had no intentions of coming back. I thought that was it, my final journey.
“I knew that in Rio I would find the things I wanted, a free flow of cocaine and lots of gorgeous women.
“That would have been fine by me. It wouldn’t have taken long. Luckily, I never made it. I would not have returned.”
Lundekvam played more than 350 games for Southampton and is now a successful TV pundit in Norway having overcome his addictions.
related stories
Speaking in the newly published book Saints and Sinners, Lundekvam said: “I was drinking myself to death – and I did not really care.
“I was so down and so depressed. I felt I could not cope without football. I missed the buzz and the adrenaline rush so I sought highs in other ways.
“I had had that rush of being competitive ever since I was a kid so when it was gone I made a few wrong choices and got addicted to alcohol and cocaine. It was very self-destructive.
“Being without that camaraderie is the hardest part about finishing as a player – and for me it turned out pretty badly.
“I turned to drink and drugs which was not good for me but eventually I got the help I needed. It is still something I deal with day to day.”
“It was hard for me to admit I needed help and to admit that I was struggling without football. I had always been strong and I was not used to showing my feelings or being able to cry.
“That was my life for 25 years. I had been captain of Southampton and of Norway; I was supposed to be strong.
“It was a very, very hard thing to accept especially when your judgement is clouded by alcohol and drugs. The only way is to acknowledge you need help and just hold your hands up.”
Leave a comment