Nine players that were found taking drugs during their playing days.
Whether or not they knew what was going into their bodies, the players on this list were all found out to be taking illegal substances at one point in their careers. Some managed to get off with a short ban and a small fine, whilst others saw their reputations ruined.
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9. Claudio Canigia
The Argentine enjoyed a party lifestyle away from the pitch and tested positive for cocaine whilst at Roma in 1993. He was banned for 13 months but spent time in Scotland and Argentina before retiring in 2004.
8. Mohamed Kallon
Banned for four months for testing positive for banned substance Nandrolone whilst at Inter at the early part of the century, but he still managed to earn a move to Monaco once his ban had been served.
7. Manuel Blasi
Two weeks after Kallon was caught using Nandrolone, Blasi got found out, too, whilst at fellow Serie A side Parme. He was hit with an eight month ban but still managed to salvage his career with spells at Fiorentina and Napoli.
6. Garry O’Connor
Whilst at Birmingham, a Channel 4 ‘Dispatches’ team discovered that O’Connor had been using cocaine up to three times a week and squandered his fortune in the process. Reports state he now lives in a council flat.
5. Abel Xavier
The Portuguese stopper had already enjoyed a colourful career, but in 2005 whilst with Middlesbrough he was banned for 12 months after being caught with methandrostenolone in his system.
4. Mark Bosnich
After leaving Aston Villa things went downhill pretty quickly for Bozzie. In 2002 he failed a drugs test at Chelsea and was subsequently sacked by the club. He spent the following years in rehab for cocaine addiction before returning briefly to play again in his native Australian.
3. Jaap Stam
Staam left Man United for Lazio in 2001, but no sooner had he arrived in Italy had he found himself on the sidelines. Nandrolone was found in his bloodstream and he was slapped with a four-month ban as a result.
2. Adrian Mutu
The Romanian was tipped for big things upon his arrival at Stamford Bridge in 2003, but things took a down turn not long after and he was sacked for testing positive for cocaine. Sacked, he rebuilt his career at Fiorentina but was ordered to pay £17m to Chelsea – a fee that is still yet to be resolved.
1. Diego Maradona
He had already endured a 15-month ban in 1987 for testing positive for Cocaine, but he was caught out again, more iconically, at the World Cup in 1994, when he was lead from the pitch midway through a group game and sent home to face the music.
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