Football pro and alcoholic? Bundesliga star gives startling impressions - "Every third ..."

Alcohol addiction in football?

Bundesliga professional Martin Hinteregger reveals terrifying experiences and makes a gloomy forecast for the future.

Frankfurt - In football, success and failure are often close together.

While some are celebrated by the fans and enjoy the fame, others eke out a lonely life and break under the pressure of expectation.

Many professionals then only see one way out - reaching for the bottle.

At least that's what Martin Hinteregger, defensive star of Bundesliga * club Eintracht Frankfurt *, claims.

The Austrian recently showed himself to be very open in his book “Inner View” and gave deep insights into his mental life with all its ups and downs - also with regard to the subjects of depression and gambling addiction.

Now the 28-year-old spoke about alcohol addiction * among professionals.

Alcoholics in football: Hinteregger explains the sad phenomenon

“Many professional footballers have become alcoholics or have completely crashed.

Probably a third.

That's a frightening number because nobody talks about it during their career, ”said Hinteregger on 

 in the program“ Sport and Talk from Hangar 7 ”on the subject of alcohol.

"The more money you have, the more worries, the more restless you have and the more unhappy you become. In a difficult time, however, you can slip into a phase in which you are extremely bad and you have to seek help", explained the Austrian EM participant.

“By what I said, I mean that every third footballer feels at risk of falling into a hole after his playing career.

Some of them have alcohol problems.

I wanted to draw your attention to this, ”added Hinteregger when asked by

.

Hinteregger blames football business for alcohol addiction: "ugliest business"

Hinteregger was already noticed by alcohol escapades. “I'm not an alcoholic. I just like to celebrate ”, the Eintracht professional made it unmistakably clear. But he admitted a serious problem with another illness. “I was really drawn to gambling. Always more. The time came when I went to the casino alone. Three times a week. Even during the day, ”wrote Hinteregger in his book, among other things.

He doesn't believe in an improvement in the football business with a view to the future. “More and more people want to benefit and have a say.

Big money is in football and that's why it will always be the ugliest business there is in the world for me, ”is Hinteregger's bitter prognosis.

On Saturday afternoon, the defense tower "Hinti" has to stand again in the Bundesliga against Arminia Bielefeld.

List of rubric lists: © Jan Huebner via www.imago-images.de