Tony Adams: ‘30 years ago, I was at point of no return – this is why I’m now running London Marathon’
LONDON MARATHON 2026: In his 60th year, and 30th sober, the England and Arsenal legend tells Kieran Jackson about how he helped his son overcome his own alcohol addiction, and his plans to combat a ‘metal knee’ over 26 miles on Sunday
Well documented and well rehearsed, Tony Adams has been through this line of questioning for some time. Three decades, in fact. It was the summer of 1996 – a home European Championships – when the then England captain reached rock bottom.
After an excruciating penalty shootout exit against Germany, the talismanic centre-back embarked on a ghastly 44-day bender, mixing brandy with Guinness to avoid consistent vomiting. By August, aged 29, his alcohol addiction had gone too far. “I felt so lonely and so desperate,” Adams recalls, now 30 years sober.
“I was blacking out and it got into my psyche. I had this mask on, so no one saw it, but underneath I was dying. Everything had stopped working: the football, the drink.
I felt scared, in terror, and I just didn’t want to be here. I had a moment where I broke down and cried – and that was a moment of clarity. ” Adams, refreshingly forthright and candid, speaks powerfully in adding: “I was stuck at that point of no return.
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