Paul Stewart has revealed that he took Class A drugs during a four-year spell at Liverpool.
Stewart made 42 appearances for the Reds between 1992 and 1993 but saw his final years spent on loan with Crystal Palace, Wolves, Burnley and Sunderland.
But the former England international has admitted that he used illegal substances after opening up about sexual abuse as a child at the hands of a former coach.
Erstwhile Liverpool manager Graeme Souness confronted Stewart about his use of drugs but the midfielder and forward, now 52, denied it at the time.
“I started taking drugs at 27 or 28, when I was playing for Spurs, but it continued after that,” he told the Daily Mirror.
“I relied on it almost daily. I had a bad habit for 15 years, maybe more.
“Liverpool manager Graeme Souness asked me if I was taking drugs. I just denied it.
“Someone had told him that it was the case, and he questioned me about it.
“Marijuana stays a lot longer in the system, in the hair for example. But with cocaine, it goes very quickly and I would take that on a regular basis.
“I was tested for drugs, but it was random and I took the risk. I got away with it. It was a way of blocking out the abuse, so that is what I did.
“I could get it at any place, any time I wanted it. I don’t know how I managed to perform on the pitch. At times that is why I was not chosen.”