Ross Barkley bravely speaks on his battle with alcohol and going into therapy to try and turn his life around for the better.
The 31 year old Aston Villa player has become teetotal since summer 2025 after past alcohol-related incidents created unwanted situations and perceptions.
He spoke openly to The Athletic’s Jacob Tanswell on seeking therapy and sports psychology to get help with his mental health, confidence loss, and his over-drinking regrets during frustrating periods at clubs like Chelsea.
Raised in a challenging single-parent household in Liverpool, he used football as an escape and pathway to improve his family’s life.
Compared early to Wayne Rooney, he faced intense pressure, fan criticism after leaving Everton for Chelsea in 2018, and then saw his career dip, before having spells at Nice and Luton, then came the career revival at Aston Villa.
Fatherhood since December 2024 has shifted his focus and priorities, emphasising clear-mindedness, professionalism, and ambitions to win a trophy with Villa under Unai Emery.
Ross Barkley’s run-ins with alcohol were well-publicised. It is why he has recently become teetotal.
Football has, and still can be, a macho sport, yet Barkley is keen to own the discussion around mistakes and alcohol.@J_Tanswell‘s exclusive interview with the Aston Villa… pic.twitter.com/1n2SSan4Do
— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) November 12, 2025
On stories regarding his run-ins with alcohol creating a perception of him and alcohol, he replied: “Yeah, it did. I haven’t drunk since the summer. I’m planning on going without alcohol throughout (the rest of) my career. It has created situations I don’t really want happening anymore.
“I’m a dad now; I’ve got more responsibilities. I’ve got maybe four, five, six or seven years left in football, so I want to make the most of that. Alcohol, for most people, can create problems — I’ve recognised that now. Without drinking, it doesn’t create any situations. You can be clear-minded every day and it doesn’t affect you mentally. There are a lot of benefits to not doing that.
“A few times I went out, and if you drink too much, you do things you regret. I’d go out and have too much to drink, and then it would get back to the club. One time, I went out on a Sunday in Liverpool and we had a game on a Wednesday. I got videoed, and then it was in the paper.
“We (Chelsea) had an away game in France (against Lille) and Frank Lampard was the manager. He couldn’t really say too much to me, other than learn from it and pick and choose when the right time is to do it, because he knew what it was like as a young lad.
“But the punishment was that I travelled with the team, but I wasn’t on the bench. I had to watch the game on the coach. It was hard to take.
“That was one occasion that has probably created a perception.”
Ross Barkley goes viral after recording himself loving life partying out in Barcelona
“You’ve got to self-reflect. You make mistakes. It’s good to speak to people and learn from mistakes and understand that throughout life, there are going to be challenges. Sometimes people struggle with their mental health; it’s good to talk to people. I’ve spoken to people, and it’s helped me.
“I’ve spoken to a sports psychologist. I’ve had therapy throughout my career and it’s beneficial. In football, you can lose your confidence. I’ve lost my confidence when I was younger. Now I’m 31, I look back and wish my approach back then was the same now.
“I was brought up with a single parent. My dad (Peter) was in and out of my life from a young age, but they drifted apart. It would be my mum and my sister.
“My mum was on benefits, so it was a difficult upbringing. I come from a small family. Football was my way of making our lives better. I put all my energy into football from a young age. My mum put belief into me that I was the best in my age group. I was on the bench for Everton’s first team at 16, and I was able to buy my mum a house. Life then got a little bit better for my mum and sister and easier for us financially.”
“My mum didn’t have much support from family. Her mum passed away when she was six, and she had some difficulties throughout her youth, and then getting older. But we made the most of what we had. I still had a good upbringing.
“It was difficult. I’d have to get two buses, sometimes three, to training. I’d have to wait outside the training ground. It could be 9pm, just waiting for a bus on my own to get back home because my mum had to mind my little sister, who is seven years younger.
“This was character-building for me. Once I got to a certain age, Everton would help financially with taxis and my coaches would drop me home after training. One of my team-mates, John Lundstram, who’s now at Hull City, had his parents drop me back and forth. Duncan Ferguson also did it a few times and he’d even come in — it’d be 10pm and he’d be having a cup of tea with my mum.”
He opens up on being in the public eye, and how after a 4-2 win against Leicester City in 2017, CCTV footage showed Barkley being punched twice by a man in a nightclub in what his lawyers called “an unprovoked attack”.
“There was a lot of pressure from the fans to maybe be that Steven Gerrard (former long-standing Liverpool captain) figure at Everton, which I wanted to be. It started to affect me because I felt like I couldn’t breathe in the city.
“When I was young, I was quite closed off. I didn’t really trust many people, like I do as I’ve got older. So I only stuck with my friendship group. I didn’t let other people in. I didn’t want people to have access to me and say certain things about what I’m like when I go for a meal or go on a night out. I didn’t want any of that.
“Nowadays, with people and their phones, you’re a little bit on edge. If you’re going for some food or in a coffee shop, people point their phones at you. I wouldn’t be bothered if they asked for a picture.”
On leaving his boyhood club and signing for Chelsea for a fee worth £15million as a 24 year old: “I was crying. I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to stay at Everton for life, or if I needed to get away from my comfort zone.
“I cried about leaving because of my love for the club. It changed my life. The support from everyone coming through — from the fans, to the staff who were father figures, to the kit men who I’d be in their room every day having banter, but then knowing that Everton weren’t going to have me in my prime, was difficult.
“But I had to make a decision because when I left, Everton were dipping. It was a little bit toxic at that point. There were lots of signings coming in and not doing so well. There was just so much change in a short space of time.
“Being away from my mum, sister and friends helped me grow. Maybe I wouldn’t have grown the way I did if I had stayed at Everton. Coming away from Liverpool to walking around London, the odd taxi man would put his thumb out the window, but because everyone’s rushing about, I could just walk about and be in my own space.”
On facing criticism from Everton fans: “I remember being back home and in my car at the traffic lights. Fans would be shouting at me. There was one time when a man had his kids in the back and his missus next to him. He was driving, but put his window down to shout things at me.”
On life in London, and facing temptations, during a lack of game time: “There is always something to do every night in London.
“When I joined Chelsea, I knew every year they were going to sign top players.
“But I hated being on the bench. I’m a player who, if you want me to be at my best, I need to feel important to the squad. If I’m on the bench, then I (need) communication. If there’s none, it’s hard for me to be at my best. I’m a big lad, so if I’m not exposed to minutes, I lose confidence in my body. If I come on for 10 minutes and because I’ve got asthma, I start to question, ‘Am I not fit?’.
“There was always competition in the midfield and, at times, I’d get frustrated. With that frustration, I’d start to go out, and went out more than I would have if I were playing more. My frustration would need to go somewhere else, so I started to enjoy going on a night out with my friends at the wrong time.”
On recent years, his time at Luton and life at Villa and under Unai Emery: “My love for football has always remained. A lot of players in my position could have ended up in the Championship and then drifted, maybe falling out of love with the game, or being in League One. No disrespect, but I’ve always been in the Premier League, so I was happy. It showed mental resilience to be able to go again.”
“He’s clear. He doesn’t bulls**t. He loves me as a player. He saw me at Luton and was like, ‘How did you go down your career path?’. From leaving Chelsea to go to Nice, then from Nice to Luton — he couldn’t understand it. He said my talent shouldn’t have had the career path I’ve had. But sometimes, certain decisions you make throughout your career, maybe outside of football, affect that.
“I could have done things differently, but I feel everything’s made me become a better person. The best thing was making my debut for Everton, as well as my debut for England. That was a dream.
“Now, I’d like to win a trophy at Villa, because the manager’s time at the club deserves it, and the team deserve to play in the final and win a trophy.”
