Former Brazil Football Star Mario Jardel Admits to 7-Day Cocaine Binge Before He Was Transferred to Bolton

Former European Golden Boot winner Mario Jardel has admitted to staying up for seven days on a cocaine binge prior to joining the Premier League club.

The former Bolton striker admitted to overdosing on the Class A drug in 2002 while at Sporting Lisbon - just one year before his move to the Reebok Stadium.

Jardel made his startling cocaine overdose confession during a celebrity version of Big Brother on Portuguese TV called "Gran Hermano: Famosos."

He admits to taking narcotics on vacation in between seasons three years ago, stating he was curious about the world of drugs. In the interview, he stated that he was no longer abusing substances and that cleaning up his act was entirely due to his wife's efforts.

Jardel had a brief political career in his homeland after retiring from football.

"In 2002, I had an overdose and was awake for seven days doing cocaine," Jardel admitted, shocking viewers and his fellow housemates.

"It's not an example for those of you who are watching me," the ex-Brazil star added.

"This is a daily struggle," he said, adding that he still has to be attentive to avoid a relapse.

Jardel's Career

Jardel was Europe's top striker for three years, breaking various goal-scoring records during his time in Portugal and Turkey.

In both the 1998-99 and 2001-02 seasons, the striker earned the prestigious European Golden Boot award. However, he lost out to Kevin Phillips in 1999-2000 despite scoring six goals more than the Sunderland striker that season.

Jardel scored 259 goals in six seasons between 1996 and 2002, an average of slightly over 43 goals per season.

The first four seasons of his career were spent with Porto, where he scored 170 goals in 175 games, including 56 goals in the 1999-00 season.

Jardel's fitness began to crumble, and he was unfortunately left out of Brazil's World Cup roster for the 2002 event, which the country won.

After a knee injury derailed his career and escalated his drug issues, the striker was limited to just 20 appearances the following season, scoring 12 goals.

He has recalled a time that he stayed awake seven days after overdosing on cocaine during that campaign.

This led to a move to Galatasaray in Turkey, where he scored 34 goals in 43 appearances before returning to Portugal the following season to join Sporting Lisbon, Porto's main rivals.

Jardel had his greatest goal-scoring season in the Portuguese city, scoring a remarkable 55 goals in 42 appearances - before his career began to unravel.

'No to Drugs' - Jardel

"I fell and it took me a long time to get back up," he continued his confession on the Portuguese TV show.

"What counts is that I'm alive, and I can now say 'no to drugs'."

The retired footballer, who was capped by Brazil at the age of 19 due to his prolific goal-scoring early in his career, has admitted to suffering from depression.

"It's not easy to deal with depression and a lack of friends after you stop playing," he remarked.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Jess Smith

WATCH: Ex-Bolton star Mario Jardel admits 'seven day cocaine binge' - from BUZZ FOOTBALL