On Friday, Liverpool FC defender Mamadou Sakho was named in a UEFA investigation concerning a possible anti-doping violation. Unavailable for selection during Saturday’s match against Newcastle United while the process unfolds, Sakho could face anywhere from 4-months to 18-months on the sidelines. With Sakho’s impending case as our inspiration, we look at five other famous footballers who have failed drug tests.
5 Famous Footballers Who Have Failed Drug Tests
#5: Kolo Toure
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The reigning The18.com player of the year, Kolo Toure was handed a six-month ban back in 2011 for doing Kolo Toure things. In this instance, it was for taking his wife’s diet pills.
The 35-year-old Toure remains an integral part of Liverpool’s setup, and he represented the Ivory Coast national team until as late as 2015. In hindsight, the positive test has left absolutely no one wondering what kind of player Toure would’ve been had he not suffered from body image issues. The answer is: unequivocally the same player.
#4: Edgar Davids
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Edgar “The Pitbull” Davids was a combative and aggressive defensive midfielder who played for Ajax, Milan, Juventus, Barcelona, Inter and Tottenham. Capped 74 times by the Netherlands, the only stain on his resume remains the four-month ban he received in 2001 for testing positively for anabolic steroids while with Juve.
#3: Pep Guardiola
Photo: @SuperbFootyPics | Twitter
Pep Guardiola received a four-month ban for testing positive for anabolic steroids in 2001. Guardiola was adamant in his defense against any wrong doing and fought the case for six years. In 2007, he was officially cleared of the drug charges. However, the case was reopened in 2008 before Pep was once again cleared in 2009.
#2: Adrian Mutu
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History has not been kind to Adrian Mutu. Now largely forgotten, Mutu heralded the significant shift towards the power of money in football After scoring 22 goals in 36 matches with Italian Serie A side Parma during the 2002/03 season, Mutu was billed as one of the finest young strikers in all of the world.
In August 2003, Chelsea paid Parma over $25 million to secure his services. Part of Roman Abramovich’s vision for the transformation of Chelsea into a European superpower, Mutu would go on to feud with new manager Jose Mourinho before failing a drug test for cocaine in 2004.
He received a seven-month ban, would later return to Italy and finally fail another doping test in 2010. This ban would result in a six-month suspension, after which Mutu was unable to ever replicate the success of his early career.
His behavior on and off the pitch has ensured that his lasting legacy will be one of never having lived up to his exceptional potential.
#1: Diego Maradona
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On three separate occasions was Diego Maradona banned from the sport for testing positive for prohibited substances. The mercurial forward remains one of the greatest to have ever played the game but suffered from addiction problems that destroyed large portions of his career.
He failed a drug test in March of 1991, earning a 15-month ban and effectively ending his golden period in Italy with Napoli. During the 1994 World Cup finals in the United States he once again tested positive, marking a solemn end to his international career with Argentina while earning another 15-month ban from football.
Maradona’s final positive test occurred in 1997, signaling the end of his illustrious career. In an interview for the 2008 film Maradona by Kusturica, Maradona claimed, “Do you know what kind of player I would’ve been if I had not used cocaine? What a player we’ve lost! I have a sour taste in my mouth because I could have been a lot bigger!”
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