Guarín on his recovery: Alcohol, depression, now winning his battle | OneFootball

The former Inter midfielder opens up to Corriere della Sera: his personal collapse, the path to recovery, and the choice to help others by putting his own experience at the service of those who suffer

Guarín tells the story of his rebirth: “Alcohol, depression, and three suicide attempts. Today I am winning my battle”

From success in the great European stadiums to the deepest darkness. Fredy Guarín breaks the silence and recounts without filters the most painful part of his life, marked by depression, alcohol addiction, and three suicide attempts. Today, however, the former Inter midfielder speaks of rebirth and of a battle he finally feels he is winning.

“How am I? I am winning my battle,” he says with clarity and awareness, looking back at a period he himself describes as hellish.

The beginning of the collapse: “I started drinking in my last months at Inter”

Guarín identifies the origin of his distress in his final months with the Nerazzurri. A moment when the pitch stopped being a refuge and his private life took over.

“I started drinking during my last months at Inter. I was suffering because of my family situation. I was separating from my wife and was far from my children.”

The move to China, instead of being a turning point, further worsened his emotional state. Then came the move to Brazil, which coincided with the outbreak of the pandemic.

“When I went to Brazil, Covid arrived. At that moment, what had still been saving me disappeared: football. I was left with nothing, only myself.”

Loneliness and the cry for help

The story becomes even harsher when Guarín describes one of the most critical moments of his life, when he seriously considered ending it all.

“I was home alone, I had been drinking. I called people, but no one answered. I was thinking of ending it. I was tired of everything.”

A moment suspended between life and death, broken by a decisive call for help.

“I called my psychologist and my agent. God saved me.”

The path to recovery and rebuilding relationships

From that moment, a long and complex journey began. Guarín entered a specialized foundation, started a rehabilitation program, and managed to break his relationship with alcohol. A daily effort, built on awareness and responsibility.

The relationship with his children was also fundamental, initially marked by distance and pain.

“They didn’t forgive me right away, but in time they understood me.”

A bond rebuilt step by step, which today represents one of the pillars of his personal rebirth.

Today, the commitment to help others

Guarín doesn’t just recount his past. His experience becomes a tool to support those living through similar situations.

“Now I work at the foundation together with my psychologist. I want to put my experience at the service of others.”

A choice that transforms pain into testimony and personal experience into a message of hope: even after the deepest darkness, it is possible to see the light again.

Fredy Guarín’s story goes beyond football. It is the story of a fall, but above all of a rise, which the former Nerazzurri player now wants to share to remind everyone that asking for help is not a weakness, but the first step toward salvation.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.