Former Inter Milan star claims he drank up to 70 beers a night during the darkest period of his career

Former Inter Milan midfielder Fredy Guarin has opened up about his battles with alcohol and depression.

Guarin – who retired in 2021 – said in a recent interview with Radio Caracol that he was drinking up to 70 beers a night at one point when he was based in Brazil with Vasco da Gama.

The 38-year-old already had drinking problems before leaving Inter to join Shanghai Shenhua in 2016, but the former Colombia star started drinking a lot more after his move to China.

“From the first day of my arrival in China, I became a real alcoholic,” he remembers.

“I would get up to train and then right after I would go drink. I would rest a little, work out, then drink. Every day was like this.

“I started to get better in Brazil, I felt like the happiest man in the world for six months, but then the pandemic hit.”

Guarin joined Vasco da Gama in September 2019 after four years in China. He previously played for Inter, Porto and Saint-Etienne in Europe, as well as Envigado and Atletico Huila in his native Colombia.

Brazil went into lockdown in early 2020 due to the global COVID outbreak. With training and matches suspended, Guarin’s life turned dark and almost completely ended.

“I was drinking 50, 60, 70 beers in one night,” he said. “I was totally losing control, hanging out in the Favelas, looking for danger and adrenaline. I ran 10 days straight while completely drunk, woke up with a beer by my side.

“I lived on the 17th floor of a building and I was so detached from reality that I jumped off a balcony. Luckily there was a net underneath and it bounced me, but I didn’t even realize it. I had no idea what I was doing.

“I then realized that if I got drunk again I was going to die. I hope that my testimony can reach many corners of the world, touch many hearts and save lives.

Big things were expected of Guarin when he arrived at Porto in 2008.

He was featured as a “child prodigy” in the video game Football Manager.

Although his real-life success did not live up to his virtual hype, he won nine trophies with Porto, including the 2010–11 edition of the UEFA Europa League.

Guarin joined Inter in January 2012 and it was in Italy that his drinking problems began.

He added: “I started to make a name for myself in Italy and that’s also where a different problem started off the pitch.

“At first I handled it quite well, because I would get drunk two days before a match, then I would play, I would score a goal or two, and the team would win. I think it all started from a lack of understanding.

“I drank at home, in nightclubs, in restaurants. I already had a family and it was a shame because I knew very well that what I was doing was wrong. I missed every goal, football and personal, because I felt like I had no limits.

“I was so absorbed in alcohol that they told me through my agent that I could no longer stay in Milan. The club warned that I had to be kicked out of there, straight away.